Who pays bar pilots?
Shippers, not tax payers, pay pilotage fees under a regulated tariff system and the Bar Pilots cannot raise pilotage fees at will. Pilotage is set by the Louisiana Pilot Fee Commission, and paid by shippers, who use Pilots to bring ships and their cargo in and out of the Mississippi River. It is a common misconception that the state of Louisiana contributes to Pilot pay. Neither the State of Louisiana nor Louisiana tax dollars contribute a single penny to pilotage fees.
