Boston Harbor Pilot Issues Set to Come to a Head in November
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A meeting between “key members of interested parties” to the ongoing conflict in Boston Harbor surrounding the proposed certification of docking masters is now set for November 13, 2006. The Boston Marine Society, the governing body for the Boston Pilots, will host the meeting. The discussion of Changes to Massachusetts GL Chapter 103 & CMR for District One is the primary purpose of the meeting, according to MarEx sources. Legal council for several parties to the dispute is expected to be in attendance. At issue is who can perform docking services, at what price and under what conditions. As a rule, Boston Towing & Transportation (BT&T) uses only BT&T employees to direct their tugs during ship docking evolutions. BT&T also employs most of the docking masters in Boston Harbor.
The November 13th date is just the latest in a series of ongoing meetings between Boston Pilot Commissioners, local docking masters, Boston (state commissioned) Marine Pilots and other interested industry parties which have been held to hammer out differences. In July, it was reported that docking master representatives left a meeting when it became apparent that other parties to the proposed rule changes would not relent on the issue of the docking master’s “exculpatory clause.” Reportedly, the Boston Marine Society, who ultimately will draw up the final proposals to be presented to the Massachusetts State Legislature, will require the docking masters to be governed by the current pilot rules (chapter 103 / section 18). The applicable chapter addresses issues of liability for state licensed mariners.
Also still at issue is the matter of rates for docking master fees. Currently, those fees are set by the Commonwealth at a flat fee of $350 per movement, but private docking masters working for local tug operators can and do charge fees up to and exceeding $1,000 for this service. The ongoing turmoil in Boston Harbor has consumed the Boston waterfront community for more than 18 months. Eventually, language agreed to by the “interested parties” will be presented to the Massachusetts Legislature for consideration.
For the docking masters, the situation has arguably now become tenuous. The Boston Marine Society may be poised to send legislative language that will not only allow for the certification of docking masters, but also require anyone who performs this work to do so under the exact same liability rules also imposed on the Boston Pilots and also at a maximum price which is far less than that being charged in the harbor today. According to a MarEx source, who asked to remain anonymous, the docking masters could very well end up fighting the very bill that they had hoped would eventually lead to their state certification.