Sabine Pilots open new headquarters

Present for ribbon cutting ceremony were some 500 maritime community stakeholders as well as elected and appointed governmental and port area leaders. Speakers were Captain Charles A. Tweedel, President of the Sabine Pilots, and Father Charles A. Tweedeof the Port Arthur Seafarer Center and Apostleship of the Sea, who delivered the blessing.

The Sabine Pilots Association today formally opened its new headquarters located in Port Arthur, Texas.

The new structure is designed and built to enable the Sabine Pilots to handle the growth and challenges of expanding shipping demands on their waterway.

The 9,716-square-foot building features a covered lobby/entrance, a 30- by 38-foot conference room, an executive conference room, a library/chart room, five offices, nine bunk rooms, an exercise/locker room and covered parking.

Adjacent to the building is a helipad for future use in transporting pilots that is also available to the U.S. Coast Guard and a nearby hospital.

One of the fastest growing harbor pilot association in the U.S., the Sabine Pilots currently number 31 pilots, with the group training 15 more deputy and apprentice pilots. The pilots serve the shipping industry and the public ports of Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange, and Sabine as well as the private oil terminals and the industrial complex of southeast Texas.

As Texas State commissioned pilots, the Sabine Pilots maintain the safety and environmental integrity of the Sabine Neches Waterway while servicing the needs of industry.