OREGON BOARD OF MARITIME PILOTS MINUTES #518

Transcription

1 OREGON BOARD OF MARITIME PILOTS MINUTES #518 The Oregon Board of Maritime Pilots met in regular session on September 21, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. in conference room 1-B of the Portland State Office Building. The Board representatives present included Chair Gary Piercy, Leslie Goss, Kip Callahan, Capt. Chris Farrell, Capt. Elroy Olson, Andy Papachristopoulos, Dan Pippenger, Capt. George Wales, Assistant Attorney General Katharine Lozano, and Susan Johnson, Administrator. Vice Chair Mike Swanson and ex officio member David Poston were unable to attend. APPROVAL OF MINUTES #517: The minutes from the July 20 meeting were approved as previously mailed. Chair Piercy gave a quick update on the Executive Director recruitment, noting that PUC HR helped the Board put together the first round of applicant interviews on September 13 and 15. Three applicants will be re-interviewed on October 11. PILOTS REPORTS: Recent Activity/Announcements Capt. Rick Gill of the Columbia River Pilots advised that the river levels look good and three of four dredges are working. Members of the pilot group have attended meetings: Capt. Amos with Rep. Rogers in Spokane on the Columbia River Treaty and also an international meeting for writing standards for AIS; Capt. McIntyre at the University of New Hampshire with NOAA. She is also on the federal advisory committee for NOAA. Other meetings included one in Newport with NOAA and with the Coast Guard. Capt. Gill concluded with a quick summary of upcoming events. Capt. Dan Jordan of the Columbia River Bar Pilots noted there was a PNWA ceremony for Jetty A construction followed by a boat tour with Sen. Murray. They hosted a CRSOA meeting at their office followed by a tour of the helicopter operation. They attended Coast Guard industry breakfasts and an Area Maritime Security meeting and met with Coast Guard planners on home porting two new Coast Guard cutters in Astoria. They also conducted a boat tour of the bar with Capt. Martin of the CG National Maritime Center. Capt. Jordan concluded with a quick summary of upcoming events. Capt. Wales reported on Coos Bay, noting that shipping has gone down this month. He advised that the north jetty there is seriously degraded, and the Corps is in the process of studying potential repairs. If nothing is done soon it will affect shipping. The Port is still working on the channel modification project and soliciting public comment on their website. The Port of Newport s potential for log exports from the International Dock fell through, but there is a small container company that may have an interest. NEW BUSINESS: Quarterly Fatigue Reports Board members received fatigue reports for the second quarter of the year. This reporting mechanism is required by rule and no action of the Board is necessary. There was discussion of the first category of the Bar Pilots report which involves the times working more than eight hours at night. Capt. Farrell clarified that it includes when a pilot is called; to when the job is finished it does not include stand-by time. He noted that they didn t find the number posted for the second quarter acceptable, and they put a working rule in place to try to mitigate it. Capt. Olson added that for the River Pilots, the fatigue rules have not caused any major disruptions in their work schedule.

2 Oregon Board of Maritime Pilots Page 2 Applicant Ranking Recommendations for Board Ratification A Board committee conducted evaluations for both river and bar pilot applicants earlier in the year. Board members were presented with a recommended ranked lists of applicants for ratification. Mr. Pippenger made a MOTION to ratify the ranked lists as presented. Capt. Olson provided a second to the motion, which CARRIED. Ms. Goss abstained from the vote as she was not serving on the Board when the interviews were conducted. Rule Hearings Report Rule hearings were conducted on July 25 and August 24 for the proposed amendments to the interview portion of the pilot trainee selection process in OAR and The Administrator conducted the hearings and provided a report to the Board for their consideration when it is time to vote on the rule amendments (under Rules Review). INCIDENT REPORT: On July 25, 2017, the bulk carrier Ruby Indah, being piloted by Capt. K.R. Haglund, grounded while departing the berth at Temco Kalama. Capt. Olson provided an investigation summary which is incorporated as a part of these minutes, and noted that the pilot was attempting to avoid the extreme shoaling in the area. He advised that the probable cause of the incident was that pilot did not sufficiently communicate with COLRIP operations; and in hindsight, didn t order enough tugs for the situation. Capt. Olson advised the Capt. Haglund has been a pilot for over 30 years with a good record he was involved in only one other incident in 1994 that did not involve pilot error. He advised that there was some pilot error involved in the Ruby Indah, in that he could have done better to prepare before moving the vessel. Capt. Haglund has since better educated himself to prevent this from happening in the future, and Capt. Olson recommended that the incident be filed with no action against the pilot. Capt. Farrell made a MOTION to accept the report as submitted. Capt. Wales provided a second to the motion, which CARRIED. Ms. Goss made a MOTION to accept the report s recommendation of no action against the pilot. Mr. Pippenger provided a second to the motion, which CARRIED. STAFF REPORT: Board members received a budget report through July 31, 2017 and an updated biennial report through June 30, As discussed at the last meeting, Mr. Poston provided a description of the expenditures that go into the budget line items. There was discussion of attorney general fees, and how expenditure levels are determined. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Tariff Review - Update Mr. Piercy stated that the committee has not met recently. He advised that he had met with the River Pilots on August 31 and the Bar Pilots on September 8 to discuss the submission of financial data. They discussed the form and schedule for submissions but no agreements or decisions were reached. In both cases they agreed to continue discussions at later meetings. Mr. Piercy admitted that he had since been informed that he should not have attended these meetings, and in the future the Tariff Review committee will hold meetings on this subject. He would like to convene the committee in likely the third week in October. There was a change in committee membership, which will include Mr. Piercy, Mr. Swanson, Mr. Pippenger, Capt. Wales and Mike Titone of COLBAR. Capt. Anne McIntyre of COLRIP stated that they would like an opportunity to discuss who will be their representative and the appointment has yet to be determined.

3 Oregon Board of Maritime Pilots Page 3 Rules Review 1 Ms. Goss noted that since the last meeting Board counsel has provided a memo dated August 18, that proposes revisions to our administrative rules. This is the first review phase that identifies eleven revisions. She would like to move forward with the revisions with the exception of items under ratemaking at and the interview process under and Capt. Olson noted that there were other elements of concern in the proposed revisions, and suggested that the Board form a committee to review these revisions to include stakeholder involvement. After discussion of the Board s options in the rulemaking process, it was agreed to follow Mr. Callahan s suggestion to take a vote on each proposed revision Model Rules of Procedure Motion/Farrell; Second/Callahan; Carried Meetings of the Board No motion Original Licensing Requirements (2)(c) suspension language not in conformance with statute; Motion/Wales; Second/Pippenger; Carried Pilot Trainee Selection and Apprentice Selection and Training Program Re-notice rulemaking; Motion/Wales; Second/Pippenger; Carried Failure to Report Motion/Pippenger; Second/Wales; Carried Pilot Trainee Selection Coos Bay Bar and Yaquina Bay Bar Pilotage Ground Re-notice rulemaking; Motion/Callahan; Second/Wales; Carried Complaint Process Motion/Wales; Second/Pippenger; Carried Grounds for Pilot Discipline Motion/Pippenger; Second/Olson; Carried (discussion of changing the tense decided to leave as is) Fees for Public Records Motion/Farrell; Second/Callahan; Carried Ratemaking Substantive Elements No motion Transportation Oversight Committee Motion/Farrell; Second/Olson; Carried PUBLIC COMMENT: David Bartz, counsel to CRSOA, referring to the rules discussion, said that some agencies he has worked with have successfully used advisory committees. He urged the Board to use advisory committees as they address the rule amendment process. Capt. Anne McIntyre of COLRIP and two-term former Board member, wished to communicate some concerns: that the Board is experiencing a loss of institutional knowledge due to Board member turnover and loss of an executive director. She stated that many of the rules and processed currently under review were reviewed at length not that long ago. There s history related to the practical application of the rules and why they were developed, the knowledge of which seems to be slipping away. She suggested that the Board needs to have a better understanding of how CFR (Code of Federal Regulations), OAR, the Coast Guard and the Board integrate as far as jurisdiction, and regulatory requirements related to incidents, licensing and medical review. Another concern was related to a perceived hysteria over public meetings law, which seems to be crippling the Board in its work. She encouraged the Board to include stakeholders in the rule amendment process. Mr. Piercy advised that Capt. McIntyre had reached the end of time for the comment period. There was discussion on public comment and length and the role of stakeholders in Board decisions. Ms. Lozano stated that she would draft a memo for the next meeting, on the different kinds of rulemaking processes available to the Board, including the use of collaborative rulemaking and advisory committees.

4 Oregon Board of Maritime Pilots Page 4 Todd Zilbert, counsel to COLRIP, endorsed the use of advisory committees in rulemaking. He referred to the two hearings on the interview process rules recently conducted by the Board. He recently came upon different rule language that he thought would better address the changes needed for the interview process, found under (1). Their concern that the proposed language for the interview process will affect the Board s pilot members ability to participate in the pilot applicant interview process. He suggested that these rules should have been addressed by an advisory committee in a deliberative process. Michael Haglund, counsel to CRBP, yielded his time to Capt. McIntyre to finish her comments. She noted in conclusion that she thought the categorical approach being taken to the rule amendments is not the best approach. She suggested that there should be a holistic review of all the rules that examines them in context. There was discussion of appointing a committee, after reviewing the Ms. Lozano s memo on the options available. The meeting adjourned at 3:35 p.m. NEXT MEETING DATE: November 16, 2017 Capt. Chuck Patching of the Columbia River Pilots gave a presentation on TV32 after the close of the regular session meeting. Respectfully submitted, Susan Johnson Susan Johnson, Administrator License Renewals - As submitted on the agenda, the following licenses are scheduled for renewal in September & October: On the Columbia and Willamette River pilotage ground C.M. Boyce #167, D.C. Burrows #124, P.E. Bair #128, S.J. Dobbins #130, C.D. Eckardt #168 and D.E. Olsen #158. On the Columbia River Bar pilotage ground L.E. Duerr #149 and W.R. Stolz #118. Minutes Approved November 16, 2017, Minutes #519

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6 Oregon Board of Maritime Pilots Page 6 M/V Ruby Indah Incident date: July 25, 2017 Report By: Elroy E. Olson Subject: Grounding of the M/V Ruby Indah Pilot: Captain Kenneth R. Haglund Vessel Particulars: Name: M/V Ruby Indah Type: Bulk Carrier LOA: 751 ft. Draft: 42' 8" Year Built: 1998 Introduction: On July 25, 2017 at approximately 05:15 the M/V Ruby Indah grounded while departing the berth at Temco Kalama. Incident Details: At: 05:05, July 25, the M/V Ruby Indah departed Temco Kalama. The M/V Ruby Indah was under the Pilotage of Capt. Kenneth R. Haglund on a harbor shift from Temco Kalama to Kalama North dock, with the assistance of two tugs. At 05:15 the M/V Ruby Indah grounded just off the berth at Temco Kalama in the process of getting underway and turning to head down river to a lay berth. When the ship was at or near a 45 degree angle off the dock and the stern approximately 100 feet off the dock, Capt. Haglund believed the stern of the ship was going to flood up against the dock. He came ahead on the ships engine to avoid striking the dock with the stern of the ship. At that point, the bow of the ship grounded on a shoal. The pilot had two more tugs dispatched to help back the ship off the shoal. At 06:00 the ship was successfully backed off the shoal and proceeded down river to Kalama north dock. The ship sailed on the next tide with no further incident. There was no vessel damage, property damage/personal injury or pollution occurred as a result of this incident. Worked Performed: Interviewed the pilot Reviewed TV 32 with Captain Jon Acshoff Discussion: The shoal that the M/V Ruby Indah came in contact with/ was a shoal that built up as a result of the extreme high water conditions of the Columbia River during 2017 spring freshet. Captain Kenneth Haglund has already communicated with the officers of the Columbia River Pilots on this incident. In my opinion he has a good and clear understanding of what he would do different in the future. Captain Haglund has an exemplary record over the past 33 years as a pilot on the Columbia River. Cause: The probable cause of this incident is: 1. The pilot didn't order enough tugs for the situation, flood tide and the extreme shallow water.

7 Oregon Board of Maritime Pilots Page 7 2. More communication was needed between the pilot and the day-to-day operations of COLRIP. Recommendations: This incident should be filed based on what Capt. Haglund has already done to educate himself to prevent this from happening in the future. Respectfully Submitted Captain Elroy E. Olson