Hudson River Pilots

Hudson River Pilots Association

Explored in 1609 by Henry Hudson, the Hudson River was a major transportation route for the Native Americans and early settlers. Today these waters are still navigable by ocean vessels to Albany, NY. The Hudson River to Troy, NY is a tidal estuary connecting to the Erie Canal, Lake Champlain, Great Lakes, and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Started in 1958, The Hudson River Pilots Association are both Federally and State Licensed Pilots employed to safely and efficiently guide vessels to the ports along the Hudson River.

Vessel voyages with the Hudson River Pilots begin at the Yonkers Pilot Station for a 56 mile transit in the lower half of the Hudson, passing under 6 bridges, twisting through the sharp turns at the US Military Academy at West Point and, after an approximately a 5.5 hour trip, ending at the second pilot station at Norrie Point. After a second pilot exchange, the upper part of the Hudson River involves a 54 mile run to the Port of Albany. This transit can take from six to seven and a half hours, depending on the vessel as the navigable channel north of Kingston, NY narrows to a width of 400 feet. Total transit time from Yonkers to Albany will be 11- 13 hours.

The State of New York relies on the Hudson River Pilots Association to be the front line in the effort to protect the river environment and maintain safe commerce to all the ports along the river.

Vessel Transit Considerations
Large River Vessels

Vessel Priority
Memorandum

TRANSIT INFORMATION

Bridge Height at MHW

134' or 40.6M (At normal water levels) 132 ft of air draft gives the minimum vertical clearance of 2 ft at any stage of tide, which is required to pass under all bridges on the Hudson River.

Calculating Air Draft

Upper Hudson River North of Kingston

Maximum Draft - 30'FW Vessels transiting the Upper Hudson River with drafts of 27' to 30'must be set up for the correct stage of the rising tide. Daylight transits only north of Kingston.

Lower Hudson River South of Kingston

Maximum Draft - 33' FW Vessels transiting the Lower Hudson River with drafts of 31' to 33' must be set up for the correct stage of the rising tide. Vessels with a draft of 31' or less may transit the Lower River any time.

All vessel draft information is subject to existing weather and river conditions at the time of transit. The various docks and types of vessels calling to the Hudson River have different criteria in regards to tug assistance and time of arrival or departure due to tide and current. Please call our Dispatcher to be put in contact with a Hudson River Pilot for assistance in setting river transits and questions to specific jobs.

Hudson River Pilots - (718) 815-4316

Launch Service at Yonkers and Norrie Point Pilot Stations

Launch service for vessels, which do not require pilotage service, in the vicinity of the the Hyde Park (Norrie Point) Pilot Station and Yonkers Pilot Station is available to customers by contacting HRPA dispatch at: (718) 815-4316 or email: admin@hudsonriverpilots.com. As much notice as possible is needed for services to and from a vessel such as crew change, mechanical needs, and stores runs.

Rates:	Yonkers, NY	Hyde Park, NY
First 2 Hours:	$350.00	$350.00
Hourly rate after	+ $100.00	+ $100.00

When requesting such service from Hudson River Dispatch please have the following information: Arrival time to the Pilot Stations, number of personal needing launch service, Vessel name, point of contact phone number, Company Billing address, and purchase order number (if needed). Prior to boarding the launch boat, personal will need to read and sign the hold harmless agreement provided by the launch operator or available here: (Norrie Point PB Flynn, Yonkers PB Trenton)

Note: There is no long term parking at the pilot stations.

Yacht Information

The Hudson River Pilots, as required by state navigation law, provide pilotage for foreign (or enrolled) yachts from Yonkers, NY up to Federal Lock, Troy, NY. A number of marinas and docks are available, which can accommodate yachts up to 200 feet in length, located in Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Kingston, Catskill and Albany.

Pilotage Requirements
for Yachts

Hurricane Avoidance

In August 2011, many foreign and U.S. flagged yachts seeking shelter from Hurricane Irene came to the Hudson River. These yachts safely moored at commercial docks in the Port of Albany, marinas, or anchored at various locations throughout the river to ride out the damaging storm. On the right is amateur footage of vessels docked in the Port of Albany before the arrival of Hurricane Irene.