A Bridge Over Troubled Waters in Long Island Sound - Marine Pilots MOA - Part III
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The MOA is here to stay. At least that’s what the powers that be are saying. The view from both New York and Connecticut is that a coordinated, mutually beneficial effort with regard to oversight of Long Island Sound, marine commerce and of course, marine pilotage is the way to go. The state of Connecticut shows absolutely no inclination that a “go-it-alone” type policy, similar to what most other states operate under, will be an option going forward. If they were, a great deal of work would have to be done in advance of laying the groundwork for such changes. With all of that being said, it is also clear that substantial work remains to be done by the MOA signatories in way of (a.) reforming the rate / fee structure, (b.) ensuring the funding of a safe and reliable pilot boat operation and finally, (c.) preparing the next generation of Long Island Sound pilots to take over in a seamless fashion when the attrition from the current group warrants the addition of new manpower.
The concept of the MOA and its implementation came in answer to what has been described by some observers to be a broken system. Whether the previous arrangement, or lack thereof, was actually broken is something that can be argued until the cows come home. But, it’s a moot point now. The MOA which replaced the “competition days” has been, at best, an imperfect solution to the problem. The MOA provides a measure of stability for the two states that oversee it and artificially low rates - not changed since 1983 -for the marine customers who depend on it. At the same time, the MOA has done little for the marine professionals who toil under its rules. At some point, the pilots assert, this has to change.
As MarEx went on line with this edition of our e-newsletter, MarEx received word that a “special” meeting of the Connecticut Pilot Commissioners had been called by the Connecticut Department of Transportation, on very short notice, for Monday, 31 July. The meeting will also mark the first date that both Vince Cashin and Charles Beck will be attending as board members. The purpose of this extraordinary meeting, according to an agenda obtained by MarEx from the Connecticut DOT, included Pilot Boats, an Apprentice Program, a Pilot Training Program and the Rotation Administration.
The Business of Guiding Marine Traffic on Long Island Sound: Pilot Fees, Pilot Boats and Pilots
Connecticut Pilot Commission Chairman Michael Eisele has gone on record stating that reform in the matters of rates for pilotage in Long Island Sound is very much an important and ongoing task for the CT Pilot Commission. He also says that before this can happen, the volume of work being done by the existing pilots has to be better quantified so that an informed decision can be made. And, according to the minutes of the CT Pilot Commission meeting held in March, this data is being made available by the pilots themselves.
According to data provided by Connecticut Maritime Transportation Manager Charles Beck, Connecticut takes in an average of $85,348 per year in surcharges from their (70%) share of the MOA rotation gross revenues. Extrapolating the data further, and adding in the 30% share of the New York side of the equation, the business of piloting deep draft marine traffic in Long Island Sound generates just over $2 million annually for the pilots. Additionally, Charles Beck of the Connecticut DOT says that this number does not include docking master fees, detention and other miscellaneous fees which the pilots can and do charge for. According to one pilot, the extra fees can amount to another $300,000 to $400,000 per year.
Spread between about 15 full-time pilots and considering the heavy expense load associated with operating this service industry, the money doesn’t go very far. Although some of the “Connecticut-only” have asserted that their gross annual incomes in the recent past have been in the range of $90,000, others say that these numbers are low. The data provided by the state of Connecticut would suggest that the pilots are earning as much as $160,000 per year. No one has volunteered to provide MarEx with a 1099 or K-1 form, but for the purposes of this article, we’ll assume that the actual number is somewhere in between the two figures for a full-share pilot. Either way, the pilot related fees currently generated in Long Island Sound make the MOA participants some of the lowest compensated pilots in America today.
Completing the financial picture is the realization that Long Island pilot incomes are gross figures only, with the added burden of pilot boats, pilot commission surcharges (6% for CT / 3% for NY), travel and administrative costs and a reasonable benefits package all combining to create an enormous drain on a pilot’s individual take. The fuel surcharge associated with the rising cost of energy recently enacted and since extended, has helped to defray some of these costs. One thing is for certain: if people were getting rich from piloting ships in Long Island Sound before the implementation of the MOA, this is no longer the case.
The task remaining for the MOA signatories, therefore, is to determine how many pilots are needed and at what rate they should be compensated for these difficult and high skill jobs. With a total of 17 pilots now involved, to one degree or another in the MOA, the argument that there are still too many participants in the mix for the available volume of work is something that the Pilot Commissions in both New York and Connecticut have to consider. This is something of a Catch-22, however, especially given the terms of the MOA that “grandfathered” existing pilots into the rotation.
If the bean counters determine that the volume of work available in the sound is less than that which can support the existing cast of characters, there’s little that can be done in the interim to correct the imbalance. For now, both states will have to wait until some participants leave the rotation through retirement or other forms of attrition. The decision to hand out 50 Connecticut licenses in a very short period of time over twenty years ago was, in retrospect, clearly foolish, not easily fixed and likely to hamper maritime policy decisions for Long Island Sound (and Connecticut in particular) for many years to come.
Establishing a fair rate for pilotage in Long Island Sound has nothing to do with how many pilots are providing service. With no rate increases since 1983, the average pilot in Long Island Sound probably takes home one-half of what he did in the 1980’s in terms of spending power. Meanwhile, neighboring states, and New York itself, regularly increase pilot fees using incremental changes, sometimes based on the Consumer Price Index. In theory, it should be a lot harder to raise rates in New York, where the legislature must approve such a move. In Connecticut, the Commissioner of Transportation can make such a decision unilaterally.
It’s no way to attract future talent, nor is it a good way to keep those who do work here happy. There’s no indication as to when rates will be increased. One Pilot Commission member - he asked that his State and name remain anonymous - remarked, “A primary reason that rates have not been increased is that the terminal and port operations interests in Connecticut oppose these increases, saying that it will make them less competitive with other ports elsewhere.” As a foil to this argument, he brought up the example of the thriving port of Albany, NY, where shippers have to bring their goods through two phases of costly pilotage in order to transit the 125 miles up from New York harbor. Hudson River pilots have received incremental increases of 5%, 5% and 4% for the past three years. Still, the ships come and volume remains steady.
Influencing the Outcome: Access and Agendas
On May 19 of this year, a meeting took place in New Haven, CT between Interport Pilots, Northeast Pilots, Robert Pouch of the New York Board of Pilot Commissioners and Connecticut DOT officials. Conspicuously not asked to attend were any of the “Connecticut-only” pilots. Charles Beck also attended the meeting, during which he says matters of cooperative working relationships, problems, pilot boat financing, future pilot licensing and pilot rates were discussed. Vince Cashin wants to know why he wasn’t invited and why there were no minutes kept for this meeting. Furthermore, he says that the secretive meeting is just another clear example of a process which is attempting to bypass the Connecticut pilots in favor of another agenda. Charles Beck says that similar meetings have taken place with individuals in the past to discuss various topics and that not everyone is always invited. Additionally, he says that Cashin himself has requested and been granted similar meetings with Connecticut officials. As a full-share member of the MOA, Cashin says that any meetings between Block Island Pilot members and the Connecticut DOT which involve matters of rates, pilot boats and apprentices concern everyone. The disagreement only underscores the lack of trust between key players and feeds the perception that solutions to Long Island Sound problems will eventually not include the best interests of everyone involved in the MOA.
There’s no lack of input from interested parties in the various Commissions that make up the policy-making arms of the state of Connecticut. Joe Maco is an appointed member of the Connecticut Transportation Strategy Board, as well as the Connecticut Maritime Commission. He’s also a Northeast Marine Pilot. It’s also only fair to remind readers that Vin Cashin is one of the two new members of the expanded Connecticut Pilot commission, as well as a serving member of the Connecticut Maritime Commission and the executive board for Block Island Sound Pilots. Arguably, he’s the best represented of all of the pilots within the MOA. While none of this suggests that anything untoward is occurring, it does illustrate well the extent to which the agendas of some of the different players are represented in the decision-making process. When Cashin joins the Connecticut Pilot Commission in the near future, it’s also a safe bet that there will be no more meetings between any parties to the MOA for any reason, without Vin Cashin being in attendance.
Interport Pilots Weigh In
Everyone involved with the MOA has their ideas about “what ought to be done.” Charles Jonas of Interport Pilots is no different. His vision for the future, not coincidentally, involves his organization. Jonas says that the pilot industry in Connecticut cannot be supported by a system which is based on a New York model where they have 14,000 movements per year. But, he says, “With rate increases and some other improvements, we’ll be able to afford a safe and efficient pilot system.” He goes on to say that new leadership in Connecticut government is facilitating change. On the other hand, he added, “We have to be reasonable about rates, but it’s been long enough.”
Jonas is also candid about the numbers of pilots required, how the work should be handled and who should train the next generation of pilots. He maintains that the volume of work available will support about 5 pilots, but that under this type of arrangement, there would never be any time off and that safety would be an issue. For this reason, he says, the best solution is for pilots with multiple licenses to be in the rotation, deriving a significant portion of their income from other ports. Critics of that way of thinking, Vince Cashin for one, say that a pilot who maintains multiple licenses in various places cannot possibly maintain the necessary level of expertise in all of them. He believes that Connecticut pilots ought to be just that: Connecticut pilots, who work the same waters on a daily basis, not hopping from port to port as the menu of the workload changes for groups like Interport Pilots. But even Vince Cashin agrees that there are currently “more than sufficient numbers of pilots for the available work.”
Charles Jonas says that the next generation of pilots in Long Island Sound ought to be trained by the persons or groups who have the resources to do just that. He cites Interport Pilots’ full-time training manager as a good example, but also admits that Sandy Hook and Northeast Marine Pilots have similar arrangements. The implications are obvious. NY Pilot Commissioner Robert Pouch says that “Pilot licenses are given to individuals, not the groups that they work for.” It’s also true that if a particular candidate trains with Interport Pilots and gets his transportation from the Interport pilot boats to and from those training sessions, you can bet he’ll be working for Interport Pilots when he gets his ticket.
Vince Cashin recently remarked that his organization, the Connecticut State Marine Pilots Association (representing 5 of the 8 Connecticut-only pilots) was considering bringing out their pilot boat again. The boat has been in lay-up for some time, but Cashin cites dissatisfaction with the service he and his associates have been receiving from the other providers. He also may be thinking towards the day when he and the CSMPA may have to compete for the privilege of training one of the new apprentices being contemplated by the MOA signatories.
Connecticut pilot Tom Walker also runs a pilot boat. Recently he had it appraised for condition and value. The survey report, sighted by MarEx, indicated overall good condition and a replacement value of $1 million. Although it has been described by some as a dependable pilot boat, others question whether the vessel’s fiberglass hull can withstand rough winter weather in the sound in full time service. Walker responds that this is sour grapes on the part of others and that the boat spent 26 years in rough weather operations in the Pacific northwest prior to him acquiring it. It general terms, then, there are many available pilot boat options for MOA participants to choose from. Which one(s) will be used in the MOA rotation going forward is not clear, but this is a matter of great importance to everyone in the rotation.
The jockeying for position is already underway in Long Island Sound. The group(s) that can put forth the most professional front and demonstrate an existing infrastructure will probably get the nod when it’s time to admit new pilots to the MOA. Interport is certainly an active and interested player in the drama. Between them, Northeast Pilots and Interport Pilots already operate three of the four pilot boats in the sound, provide for the administrative and dispatch function of Block Island Pilots and account for 7 of the existing pool of 17 MOA rotation pilots. It’s an enviable position to be in, but Jonas says that a merger between his group and Northeast Pilots, or anyone else, for that matter, is unlikely. That having been said, he also admits to having approached other individuals on the Connecticut side of the rotation with offers to join Interport with the promise of a limited backend pension scheme, but all of these overtures have been rejected.
Analysis and Opinion: Long Island Sound Tomorrow
There are a lot of things that could happen in Long Island Sound. Or, things could continue much the same as they are now. Monday’s special Connecticut Pilot Commissioner’s meeting will likely tip the hand of the Connecticut DOT as to what the cards hold for the future. The published agenda of this public gathering would certainly suggest that changes are coming.
The 900 ship movements occurring annually in Long Island Sound equate to about 60 ships each for 15 full time pilots; arguably not a heavy workload. MOA participants will argue that their pilotage involves some of the longest and most time consuming transits on the east coast, however. Nevertheless, the Pilot commissioners from NY and CT could finish their headcount and determine that no further additions to the MOA are warranted. With many of the MOA pilots at or approaching 60 years of age, the decision of when to bring in younger replacements is a tricky one. For their part, pilots like Vince Cashin and Tom Walker say that they have no intention of retiring any time soon and that as long as they physically able to do the job, they’ll continue on as before. If the Pilot commissioners decide to wait them out, reform in the sound could take another ten years, or more.
A possible but perhaps unlikely development in the MOA would be the consolidation of the Connecticut-only pilots into a more cohesive organization which would lend itself to a professional pilot boat operation and at least the appearance of a united front. If and when this occurs, all bets would be off as to who would be training the next generation of pilots. New licenses will ultimately be issued to individuals, but that individual’s affiliation will make all the difference in the world as pilotage policy in Long Island Sound takes shape in the coming years. Increased membership for Northeast Pilots or the CSMPA will translate into increased financial ability to fund a professional and efficient pilot operation, as well as a pension for those who will eventually retire. Those left out of the apprentice shuffle will ultimately find themselves marginalized and eventually eliminated from the mix. The process is especially important for Interport Pilots. Desperate to solidify their inroads in the State Pilotage business beyond that of Charles Jonas’ single state license, they also know that they (and everyone else) have to “make babies” if they want to stay in the game. More so than the fight to increase pilot rates, the “apprentice” question is the toughest political football being kicked around in Hartford today.
Keeping the rates frozen, just as they have been for the past 23 years, might just be the Connecticut DOT’s way of culling out the balance of the current batch of pilots. If so, it’s a bad idea and bad policy for the people of Connecticut and Long Island Sound. There’s really no other plausible excuse for paying highly trained professionals, whose expertise protects the environment and the lives of so many, so poorly for so long. And yet, unless Monday’s Pilot commission meeting has any surprises in store, there’s no reason to believe that any of this will change, any time soon. And without changes to many aspects of Connecticut and / or MOA policy in the future, it is likely that home grown marine expertise in Connecticut will soon cease to exist and with it, the state’s ability to have real control over marine policy and infrastructure in its waters.
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Keefe at: [email protected]