Board of Pilots

BOARD OF PILOTS MINUTES

DATE: October 14, 2005

PLACE: 500 N. Calvert Street 3rd Floor Conference Room Baltimore, MD 21202

PRESENT: Jerald Lurie, Esquire, Chairman Gregory Safko, Commissioner, O & P Licensing Eric Carlson Donald Carroll, Jr. Captain Brian Hope Captain Thomas Macdonald Captain Eric Nielsen Paul Swensen Captain George Walter

OTHERS PRESENT: Thomas Lee Woods, Executive Director Pamela J. Edwards, Assistant Executive Director Elizabeth Trimble, Esquire, Counsel to the Board Harry Loleas, Assistant Commissioner Joseph Krause David Krause James Bartlett, Esquire Michael Lavin Bryan Grube

CALL TO ORDER

Chairman Lurie called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES

Motion (I) was made by Mr. Carroll, seconded by Captain Walter, and unanimously carried to approve the minutes of the June 10, 2005 meeting.

Captain Macdonald said that he would like to make a correction to the April minutes. He was not present at the June meeting and therefore, could not make the correction. The report on Incident 126 should have stated that there was no need for immediate action on the part of the Board. Motion (II) was made by Captain Macdonald, seconded by Captain Nielsen, and unanimously carried to make the above correction to the April minutes. BOARD OF PILOTS October 14, 2005 Page Two

REPORT OF THE INCIDENT COMMITTEE

Captain Macdonald said there is a new Coast Guard senior investigative officer in Baltimore, Lt. Connie Williamson. He said Lt. Williamson has requested to be on the agenda for the next Board meeting. The Board agreed and asked Ms. Edwards to confirm Lt. Williamson’s appearance.

Captain Macdonald reported as follows:

Incident 125 - The investigation is complete and the Coast Guard report has been requested. Captain Macdonald recommended that the Board wait for the report before taking any action.

Incident 126 – The investigation is on-going and the report has not been submitted to Coast Guard headquarters. Captain Macdonald recommended the Board wait for the report before making a final decision.

Incident 127 – A hearing is scheduled for February 16, 2006 before an Administrative Law Judge.

Incident 128 – This incident involved the shifting of a dead ship (engine not operating) from one berth to another and then moving another ship into the place of the first ship. Strong winds developed and caused the vessel to scrape another one. The Coast Guard is not investigating the matter. No action warranted by Board at this time.

Incident 129 – M/V Resolve went aground at Cape Henry after the pilot turned vessel over to the Captain. The Coast Guard investigation was completed on June 30, 2005. The report has been requested. Captain Macdonald recommended the Board wait for the report before making a final decision.

05-BP-04 – The Incident Report Committee received the OIS report this morning. The Committee needs more time to review the report.

Motion (III) was made by Captain Macdonald, seconded by Captain Walter, and unanimously carried to accept the report of the Incident Committee.

On behalf of the Association, Captain Nielsen said he received a verbal report of an engine failure. An inbound ship lost engine power. The Coast Guard told the pilot to anchor the ship and the problem was resolved.

BOARD OF PILOTS October 14, 2005 Page Three

Motion (IV) was made by Captain Walter, seconded by Captain Hope, and unanimously carried to accept the Association’s report.

PILOT COMPLEMENT REPORT

Captain Nielsen presented the reports in the following order:

Arrivals – The report shows more arrivals in 2004 than 2003 and more in 2005 than 2004. There was a 3% increase from 2004 to 2005.

Shifts – This report shows a substantial increase in the amount of vessel shifts in each of the last two years.

Pilot Years of Service – This report gives an indication of who may be considering retirement. Many are eligible to retire.

Pilot Ages – This report shows the numbers of pilots in each age range and complements the previous report.

Retiring Pilots – This report is a combination of previous two reports and is based on interviews and predictions or assumptions.

Pilot Complement – This report shows the projected number of pilots through 2013 based on interviews and retirement age of 64.

Tonnage Reports – No new data is included in this report because the Board is waiting for updated data from the Maryland Port Administration.

PILOT-IN-TRAINING SELECTION COMMITTEE

Captain Hope said the Committee completed its work and has a list of 18 individuals who are highly qualified and acceptable by the committee to be selected over the next two years as pilots-in-training. This list will be effective until 2007. In the summer of 2006, the selection process will begin again with advertising in the trade journals. Ms. Trimble said that the Board has the authority to extend the list if necessary. By June 2006, a decision will be made whether or not to extend it.

WORK RULES COMMITTEE

Chairman Lurie said no work rules affecting safety have been approved by the Association. BOARD OF PILOTS October 14, 2005 Page Four

NEW BUSINESS

Foreign Yachts

Captain Nielsen said the issue of pilots for foreign yachts has arisen again. The statute says every foreign vessel must have a pilot when it passes through Maryland waters. The Association does not have the resources to put a pilot on every one that comes through. The Board set a policy several years ago that a pilot was not needed on foreign yachts less than 300 gross tons transiting to or from Baltimore or Annapolis, and foreign yachts of less than 100 gross tons transiting to or from the C & D Canal.

Captain Nielsen said while the length and draft of foreign yachts have not changed, the gross tonnages have increased. The Association feels that the threshold for yachts required to have a pilot should be increased to 500 gross tons for all foreign yachts, except those transiting to or from the C & D canal and that limit should remain at 100 gross tons.

Motion (V) was made by Mr. Carroll to modify the existing policy to read: “Yachts of 500 gross tons or less not transiting the C & D Canal will not be required to take a pilot.” Motion was seconded by Mr. Carlson. He said the Board may want to consider adopting regulations. Motion unanimously carried.

Disability Petition

Captain Nielsen said that Captain Ricketson has requested disability status. Two years ago he had a heart attack and bypass surgery, and went back to work. He had another heart attack in March 2005. Captain Nielsen said the Association is not contesting Captain Ricketson’s request.

Ms. Trimble said the statute requires that before a pilot can be placed on the inactive list, a pilot’s condition has to be certified by two physicians chosen by the Board. She said the Board must decide whether to accept these two doctors’ reports or subject him to more examinations.

Mr. Carroll said Captain Ricketson has an excellent reputation and asked Captain Nielsen if benefits to disabled pilots are different than retirement benefits. Captain Nielsen replied that disabled pilots get 40%. BOARD OF PILOTS October 14, 2005 Page Five

Motion (VI) was made by Mr. Swensen, seconded by Captain Walter, and unanimously carried to accept the doctors’ reports and to place Captain Ricketson on the inactive list.

Selection of Pilots-in-Training

Captain Nielsen said business is still increasing. Assuming business stays the same, 69 is the right number of pilots and it should remain at that number. He recommended spreading out the selection rather than taking too many pilots-in-training now to avoid having a cluster of pilots retiring at the same time as is currently happening. Captain Nielsen recommended taking three pilots-in-training now and re-evaluating the situation in the spring.

Motion (VII) was made by Mr. Swensen, seconded by Captain Walter, and unanimously carried to accept three pilots-in-training from the current eligibility list.

Captain Hope announced the first three names on the list:

1. Mark Baummer – 1998 graduate of SUNY; holds an unlimited masters license; spent most of his career on tankers. 2. Kevin Hanna – 1992 graduate of Christopher Newport University; lives in Virginia; has worked in towing industry for Moran since 1999; holds master of towing vessels license. 3. Michael Lavin - 1996 graduate of SUNY; started on tankers; joined McAllister in 2000; currently Vice President of Towing; holds limited masters license.

Motion (VIII) was made by Mr. Swensen, seconded by Captain Walter, and unanimously carried to offer the pilot-in-training positions to the above named candidates. Michael Lavin was present and accepted the offer.

Letter from Captain Hope

Chairman Lurie said he received a letter of complaint from Captain Hope against a state licensed pilot. This situation occurred on September 3, 2005. Captain Hope was the Master (Captain) of the Liberty Ship John W. Brown. Captain Krause was assigned to undock the ship from the pier and while he was onboard the ship, he refused to speak to Captain Hope or acknowledge him as captain of the ship. Captain Hope felt that Captain Krause’s failure to communicate was in retaliation for the recommended action taken at a previous Board meeting. BOARD OF PILOTS October 14, 2005 Page Six

Chairman Lurie said this is an unfortunate situation but asked if it rose to the level of a complaint. Ms. Trimble said if there is an issue of negligence or recklessness involved related to safe operation of vessels, the Incident Committee could review the letter from that angle. Mr. Swensen said this kind of behavior should not occur on the bridge of a ship.

Captain Macdonald said he is mentioned in the letter, but has not had any trouble with Captain Krause. Captain Hope said that it was not his intention that this be treated as an incident. He wrote the letter for the Board’s information only. Chairman Lurie said if these two individuals don’t speak to each other socially, that’s fine, but professionally, it’s a problem. Captain Walter said he has had problems with Captain Krause ever since the previously alluded to Board meeting.

Mr. Carroll said that as a member of the Incident Committee, he thinks it should take a closer look at the circumstances involved. Motion (IX) was made by Mr. Swensen and seconded by Mr. Carlson to refer this matter to the Incident Committee. All voted in favor except Captain Macdonald who abstained.

Captain Krause asked for permission to address the Board. Chairman Lurie said since the Incident Committee is going to review this situation, there is no need to discuss it at this time.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business, motion (X) was made by Captain Walter, seconded by Captain Hope, and unanimously carried to adjourn the meeting at 11:50 a.m.

X With Corrections

Without Corrections

SIGNED BY CHAIRMAN LURIE ON JANUARY 13, 2006 CORRECTION TO OCTOBER 14, 2005 MINUTES

On page 4, last paragraph, first sentence, should read: “Mr. Carroll said Dr. Porterfield has an excellent reputation and asked Captain Nielsen if benefits to disabled pilots are different than retirement benefits.”

CORRECTIONS TO APRIL 22, 2005 MINUTES

On Page Two, first paragraph, should read: “Incident 126 – Investigation near completion. No need for immediate action on the part of the Board. Recommend wait for report.”