Proposed Skyway Pilot Station: Replacing the Egmont Key Pilot Station
Presentation to the TBRPC Agency on Bay and Coastal Management (ABCM)
June 11, 2026
Report submitted by Marlene Shaw
Presenter: Terry Fluke, Executive Director, Tampa Bay Pilots Association
Background: Loss of the Egmont Key Pilot Station
The Tampa Bay Pilots Association operated its pilot station on Egmont Key for over 100 years, until Hurricanes Helene and Milton brought a roughly 12-foot storm surge in September 2024 that destroyed the station and its dock. One cottage remains standing but is unusable; other structures and an old fuel tank remain as debris. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is preparing a cleanup contract for storm debris across Egmont Key, and the Association will coordinate with that contractor to clear its own remaining structures.
Pilots are licensed mariners (both state and federal licenses) regulated under Florida Statute 310 by the state Board of Pilot Commissioners (within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation). The Association holds exclusive rights to pilot vessels in and out of the Tampa Bay ports and private facilities such as Mosaic. It currently employs 21 pilots and about 20 support staff (boatmen and dispatchers), operating 24/7/365. While American-flagged vessel captains can obtain a Coast Guard license to self-pilot, nearly all use Tampa Bay pilots; foreign-flagged vessels (container ships, cruise ships) are required by the Coast Guard to carry one. Beyond navigation, pilots also serve as the on-water “eyes and ears” for the region and report vessel casualties, oil spills, and fish kills.
The Association’s pilot boats survived the storm because they were relocated to the upper harbor under standard hurricane protocol. Notably, gopher tortoises on Egmont Key also survived the 12-foot surge and were observed alive within months, which was encouraging resilience data.
Since the storm, the Association has operated out of Tierra Verde Marina. FDOT supplied emergency fuel deliveries daily for about two months until the marina’s own fuel service was restored. This underscores the importance of on-site fuel storage at any future station, which Egmont Key never had. State Senator Jim Boyd and State Representative Danny Alvarez secured a $2.5 million grant to help fund Egmont Key cleanup and shoreside infrastructure for the replacement facility.
Proposed Site
The replacement station would be built on FDOT-owned uplands along the Sunshine Skyway corridor in Hillsborough County, about a half-mile from the Black Thorn Memorial rest stop and roughly a quarter-mile south of the Pinellas Aquatic Preserve boundary. The Association had identified this site even before the 2024 storms, anticipating that Egmont Key would not survive a major hurricane.
Site selection criteria included: minimal environmental and human impact; proximity to the area where pilots board and disembark ships (6-7 miles west of Egmont Key); compatibility with 24/7 operations (avoiding residential or light-business areas); and location on FDOT-owned land along I-275, reducing land-use conflicts. Permitting is being handled by Anthony Padilla of Jay Foster Consulting, with civil engineering by Landmark Engineering; applications are headed to the Army Corps of Engineers and FDEP. Some jurisdictional and zoning questions have been challenging but appear close to resolution.
Preliminary Design
The current (non-final) design includes a basin for up to four pilot boats, a multi-story elevated office and rest facility for pilots (built to or above current hurricane codes, styled similarly to the nearby FDOT rest stop), staff parking, and a roughly 10,000-gallon diesel fuel tank to ensure fuel resiliency after future storms. The design has already been scaled back once from a larger initial concept to reduce its footprint and environmental impact.
Environmental Considerations
A seagrass survey found denser seagrass beds to the north of the site, with the chosen footprint minimizing impact. Because the Association’s pilot boats draw 7 feet of water, some dredging will be required, roughly across half the basin, and an existing navigable channel runs along the west side of the site.
Seagrass mitigation will be coordinated through Aqua Tech, which has permitted donor sites and plans to translocate seagrass from the project area before construction, plus conduct additional planting within the broader Tampa Bay watershed. A committee member asked about incorporating living shoreline elements such as planted riprap/revetment, mangroves, or artificial reefs to improve longevity and ecological value. Fluke said this isn’t currently part of the plan but that the Association will consider such input as permitting proceeds.
Regional and Public Benefit
FDOT will retain ownership of the land; the Pilots Association is funding construction of the facility (net of the state grant). The completed station will be available 24/7 to first responders (Coast Guard, fire/rescue) as a platform for moving personnel and equipment to and from vessels. This is a resource the area currently lacks. It will also be available to the scientific community (e.g., a request has already been made to install water-monitoring equipment), though it will not be open to the general public and will not include a boat ramp.
Cost Comparison
Although the new site is somewhat farther from the pilot boarding area than Egmont Key was, it is significantly more cost-effective than rebuilding at Egmont. The Egmont Key structures were 60-80 years old, the island continues to erode, and the site lacked on-site fuel storage which was a critical gap exposed during Helene.
Next Steps
Permitting with the Army Corps and FDEP is underway. Fluke offered to return to the committee later this year with finalized designs, and noted that updates will also be posted on the Tampa Bay Pilots Association website.
Update Shared at the Meeting
Mark Luther, USF College of Marine Science, reported that the College’s Marine Science Lab was destroyed by a fire on May 2. Over 150 staff have been temporarily relocated with help from neighboring institutions and NOAA, and operations are continuing, including the NOAA PORTS network that supports pilot navigation in Tampa Bay and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s ongoing PFAS surveillance study (its samples and project vessel were unaffected by the fire). The team also plans to repair the Skyway Bridge’s air gap sensor, which provides pilots with vertical clearance readings.