Richard Jacobsen, former president of Jacobsen Pilot Service Inc., died Friday at the age of 82, the Port of Long Beach announced.

Jacobsen Pilot Services, founded in 1924 by Jacob A. Jacobsen, guides incoming container ships and oil tankers to their berths at the Port of Long Beach. Port of Long Beach officials credited the younger Jacobsen with improving safety standards in the pilotage industry and leading his company during the early years of container shipping.

“This is a man who was a leader in the industry, and most importantly, he is part of the Port of Long Beach family. He will be missed,” Doug Drummond, president of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, said in a statement.

Jacobsen was born in San Pedro in 1931. He graduated from California Maritime Academy in 1952 and subsequently served in the Navy, where he earned a lieutenant’s commission. He worked for his father as a port pilot in the 1950s and became the firm’s president in 1960.

Jacobsen is survived by his wife of 57 years, Sandra Jacobsen, his sister Andrea Ulin and three children, Katherine Anderson, Thomas Jacobsen and Linda Fester as well as his children’s spouses and seven grandchildren.