Rate Increase for Boston Pilots Inching Closer in the Face of Stiff Headwinds from Special Interests

Published Jan 19, 2011 9:09 AM by The Maritime Executive

Boston, MA: Senate Bill 515 has reportedly come out of the powerful Ways and Means committee in the Massachusetts Senate without riders or attachment, but still faces considerable opposition from a vocal minority who are pushing their own agenda for one local business. On Tuesday, S515 (An Act Relative to Rates of Pilotage) -- essentially the same bill that passed both houses last session and was pocket vetoed by then Governor Romney before he left office -- moved on for formal debate, which is set to kick off again on Thursday. Seemingly, there is now nothing standing in the way of the bill's passage: nothing, that is, except Senator Bruce Tarr, hundreds of thousands of dollars in lobbyist expenditures by a local business and the effort to codify docking masters (private employees of a tug company) in a manner that would exempt them from traditional regulatory oversight in the Bay State.

With the last rate increase for Pilotage taking place back in 2001 (filed for back in 1998), Massachusetts politics have slowly set the stage for Boston pilotage conditions to sink to the depths of that now seen in Long Island Sound. There, local pilots waited 25 years for a rate increase and in the process laid the groundwork for the most poorly organized and equipped pilotage operation in the United States today. Despite this year's pay increase, they are still -- by any standard -- among the most poorly compensated pilots in America. Because of this reality, there is today no mechanism to bring in apprentice pilots and little incentive for qualified mariners to apply. Nevertheless, the vast majority of Long Island Sound pilots, all jointly administered by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOA) between the states of New York and Connecticut, are fast approaching retirement age with no one left to take their places. Connecting the dots between the political stalemate in the Bay State and the situation now present in Long Island Sound is, therefore, not a difficult exercise.

Although the Massachusetts legislature has, until only recently, a good history of addressing rate increases in a timely matter, Boston Harbor Pilots are now virtually at the mercy of one senator and a powerful lobby effort that seeks to codify the use of docking masters in Boston Harbor. Those efforts, now having failed as a standalone bill (S1349) for the second legislative session in a row, are now being focused on trying to attach similar language to the pilot's rate bill. The docking master agenda, which includes certification by the state -- but with virtually no oversight from the pilot's commission or a ceiling on rates -- has been opposed by almost every stakeholder in Boston Harbor. It appears that there is no opposition to licensing docking masters, per se, but doing so without the traditional oversight and regulations which have worked for centuries in the Bay State has been roundly rejected by all stakeholders, except the docking masters themselves.

Connecticut and New York are now collectively trying to recover from 25 years of benign neglect in Long Island Sound. In contrast, Massachusetts can avoid this fate and continue to maintain one of the safest ports in the nation, attract the best and the brightest marine pilot candidates and maintain the infrastructure necessary to all of that. But, not if the Commonwealth travels down the road of politicizing the rates for its marine professionals. In the end, S515 -- as currently written -- has the full support of industry including Massport, Boston Shipping Association, Boston Marine Society, and Propeller Club of Boston. S515 costs the citizens of the Commonwealth nothing. Instead, foreign ship owners making record profits and paying no taxes to the Commonwealth are responsible for paying pilotage fees.

The rate bill could go to the floor of the Senate for a vote as early as today, unless a last-minute political trick gets it moved off the agenda. From there, it would go to the House where, if approved, the measure would go to the governor's desk for approval. We think the bill deserves an up or down vote on its own merits. The certification of docking masters by the state of Massachusetts IS an important issue. It also has nothing to do with the rates that pilots can charge shipowners to ensure that the Commonwealth remains as a safe destination for ocean trade. In the end, this is a watershed moment for the Bay State -- a chance, if you will, to show the rest of the nation that there is no truth to the rumor that votes are routinely bought and sold in Boston, and for the worst of reasons. Let's hope it is not too late. -- MarEx

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