the entrances of the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico or the entrance of any other waterway connecting the City of New Orleans with the Gulf of Mexico or other outside waters; the examiners shall hold office for four years or until their successors are appointed and qualified, and shall perform their duties without compensation. (Source: Acts 1948, No. 46, Section 1.) R. S. 34:947. Misconduct of pilots, board of examiners' duty to report. The board of examiners shall report to the governor any neglect of duty, drunkenness, carelessness, habitual intemperance, incompetency, unreasonable absence from duty, or general bad conduct on the part of any bar pilot showing that the pilot should be removed or suspended. Upon receipt of this report the governor may revoke or suspend the commission of the pilot, reprimand him, or take any other action that he may deem proper. (Source: Acts 1948, No. 46, Section 6.) R. S. 34:962. Complaints against pilots. Any master, owner, or agent of a vessel, or any other person having cause to complain of the conduct of any bar pilot, or of his carelessness or incompetence in handling a vessel of which he is in charge, or of his soliciting business or other employment for himself or others whilst on board of any vessel, may go before the Board of Commissioners for the Port of New Orleans, and make a statement upon oath of the cause of his complaint; a copy of this statement shall be transmitted by the board of commissioners to the governor, who, if he deems it proper, shall cause a thorough investigation to be made by the board of examiners sitting with the Board of Commissioners for the Port of New Orleans as an investigating body; this body shall jointly report the result of their investigations to the governor, together with their recommendations; the governor may then either remove, suspend, or acquit the pilot so accused. (Source: Acts 1948, No. 46, Section 18.) (Excerpts from Louisiana Revised Statutes-"Pilot Commissioners") RIVER PORT PILOTS R.S. 34:991. Board of River Port Pilot Commissioners; appointment qualification and removal of members. There is hereby created the Board of River Pilot Commissioners for the Port of New Orleans. The said Board shall consist of three citizens appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, selected from those pilots who have, for at least one year preceding their appointment, exercised the function of river port pilots from the head of the passes to New Orleans, Louisiana, upon sea-going vessels, and who have been commissioned as river port pilots. The Governor, in appointing the said commissioners, shall designate the president of the Board, and the said commissioners may be removed by the Governor for cause which shall include matters and things which are deemed to be prejudicial to the public interest or to the Port of New Orleans by the Governor. The said commissioners shall take an oath to faithfully perform their duties. (Source: Acts 1908, No. 54, Section 2; Acts 1942, No. 134, Section 2; Acts 1950, No. 219, Section 2; Acts 1952, No. 177, Section 2; Acts 1960, No. 137; Section 1.) R.S. 34:1001. Complaints against pilots. (A) Any master, owner, or agent of a vessel, or any other person having cause to complain of the conduct of any river port pilot involving carelesseness or incompetence in handling a vessel of which the pilot is in charge, or of his soliciting business or other employment for himself or others whilst on board of any vessel, may go before the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans, and make a statement upon oath of the cause of his complaint; a copy of this statement shall be transmitted by the Board of Commissioners to the Governor, who, if he deems it proper, shall cause a thorough investigation to be made by the Board of River Port Pilot Commissioners sitting with the Board of Commissioners for the Port or New Orleans as an investigating body; this body shall jointly report the result of their investigations to the Governor, together with their recommendations; the Governor may then either remove, suspend, or acquit the pilot so accused. (B) If in the investigations provided in this section, the Board of Commissioners for the Port of New Orleans and the Board of River Port Pilot Commissioners are unable to agree as to their findings and recommendations, each group shall make a separate report of their findings and recommendations to the Governor, whereupon he shall make the final determination. The Governor shall take such action within thirty days of receipt of the findings and recommendations referred to in this section. (Source: Acts 1908, No. 54, Section 8; Acts 1950, No. 219, Section 11; Acts 1952, No. 177, Section 11; Acts 1960, No. 137, Section 1.) (Excerpts from Louisiana Revised Statutes-"Pilot Commissioners") NEW ORLEANS AND BATON ROUGE PORT PILOTS R.S. 34:1041. Definitions. As used in this Part, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this Section, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: (1) "Board of Commissioners" means the Board of New Orleans and Baton Rouge Steamship Pilot Commissioners for the Mississippi River, established in R.S. 34:1042. (2) "Pilot" means a New Orleans and Baton Rouge Steamship Pilot, as designated in R.S. 34:1043. R.S. 34:1042. Board of steamship pilot commissioners; members; appointment; oath of office. The governor shall appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, three citizens who shall form the Board of New Orleans and Baton Rouge Steamship Pilot Commissioners for the Mississippi River from the Port of New Orleans to and including the port of Baton Rouge and intermediate ports. The commissioners so appointed shall serve for a term of two years from July 1, 1942, and their successors shall be appointed by the governor, and shall serve for terms of two years. The commissioners, shall continue in office until their successors are appointed and qualified. The first commissioners shall be appointed from those pilots who have, for at least one year immediately preceding, exercised the functions of the river pilots from the port of New Orleans to and including the port of Baton Rouge and intermediate ports upon seagoing vessels; and thereafter the appointments shall be exclusively made from the pilots commissioned by virtue of this Part. The governor, in appointing the commissioners, shall designate the president of the board. The Commissioners shall be removable by the governor for cause, and shall qualify by taking an oath of office. (Source: Acts 1942, No. 291, Section 1.) R.S. 34:1049. Report of incompetency, carelessness, etc. of pilots; removal, suspension or reprimand; attempt to exercise functions without commission. The board of commissioners shall report immediately to the governor all cases of incompetency, or carelessness, especially charges of incompetency or carelessness in connection with damages caused to or by the ship of which the pilot had charge, as well as all cases of neglect of duty, habitual drunkenness and gross violations of its rules. The governor shall, thereupon, refer the same for investigation to the board of commissioners, the members of which shall sit as investigators and report their findings to the governor, recommending, if justified, a penalty. Whereupon, the governor may remove, suspend, or reprimand in his discretion. Whoever attempts to exercise the functions of a pilot without having been commissioned by the governor, shall be fined not less than twenty-five dollars, nor more than two hundred dollars, or imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than four months, or both. (Source: Acts 1942, No. 291, Section 8.) Mr. CLARK. We have a request from Captain Hendrix, who would like to make a comment. Glad to have you with us here, Captain. Captain HENDRIX. I have just a short prepared statement. Mr. CLARK. You may proceed, as you wish, Captain. STATEMENT OF ERNEST B. HENDRIX, MANAGER, MARINE DIVISION, LYKES BROS. STEAMSHIP CO., INC., NEW ORLEANS, LA. Captain HENDRIX. I am Capt. Ernest B. Hendrix, manager of the Marine Division, Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., New Orleans. Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., Inc., is the largest U.S. flag steamship company operating cargo vessels today. We at Lykes this date own and operate 45 vessels and within the next few weeks will acquire five more ships from another steamship company now operating out of the Gulf. At the same time we have under construction three bargecarrying type vessels, each with a displacement of 52,000 tons, and each vessel being capable of carrying 38, 1,000-ton barges. These vessels cost over $30 million per vessel. Lykes Bros. would like to go on record as endorsing the position of the American Institute of Merchant Shipping, as presented by Mr. James J. Reynolds in Washington, D.C., on July 20, 1971. We of Lykes would like to place further emphasis on the pilotage section of this bill and, while we have no desire to see the State pilotage system changed in any way, we do feel that all pilots should operate under a Federal license along with their State commission and subject themselves to the same disciplinary action by the U.S. Coast Guard as the masters of the vessels they pilot. In addition to this, I can only say this, that by agreeing to the institute program, we are now more or less agreed to harbor control by the Coast Guard, but we say, if we are going to have harbor control, then they must have control of all the men on the vessel and particularly the man who is advising us. We have no complaints against the pilots. A number of my masters are coming to me more and more and saying, "Why should I be responsible and the man advising me not?" We have a case that might go along with what was said earlier. An American master is subject, if he is in a foreign port, he is subject to any accident that happens there. I recently, or several years ago, one of my masters had an accident off South Africa and the Coast Guard held hearings on it. They hold hearings on any accident anywhere in the world if there is any reason they think there is any negligence. This is all we ask, that the pilots assume some responsibility since they are being the advisers to the master, if we are going to be under harbor control. Thank you. Mr. CLARK. Ernie, have you a question? Mr. CORRADO. Just one question. Captain, are you suggesting that a pilot, if guilty of negligence, won't be liable? Captain HENDRIX. Am I suggesting that? Mr. CORRADO. Yes. Captain HENDRIX. It is my understanding of this and I have never seen a pilot appear at a hearing where my skippers have appeared, by the Coast Guard. He answers when he is on our vessels. The Coast Guard can make a recommendation to the American Pilots Association. I want the same people who try my master to try the pilot and I think this is as good a board as you could find. If my skipper can be tried by ourselves instead of the Coast Guard or someone else, then, fine, we'll set up different ones to do it. But I think that if the Coast Guard is going to assume harbor control, which evidently everybody is about agreed that this is going to have to happen, that whoever is advising you should take the same responsibility as the master. Mr. CORRADO. It seems to me that if a pilot is negligent, he just doesn't get off scot-free. He is certainly liable and subject to a lawsuit. Captain HENDRIX. It is not particularly negligence. We have pilots, we have skippers who have had their licenses rescinded while a pilot was on board. Mr. CLARK. Doesn't he have the same liability as the master? Captain HENDRIX. Not to the Coast Guard, he doesn't; no, because he is operating under his State commission, not under that Federal license. We want him to operate under that license. Like I said, we don't want to tear up this system. We like the State system. I don't want to see every Tom, Dick, and Harry go get a Coast Guard license and become a pilot. I want it just like it is, a closed organization today, but I do think that he's got that same responsibility that the master of the vessel has, and I don't feel he has under present regulations. Mr. CLARK. Isn't it true that all of the pilots that we talk about in the association have a State and also a Federal license? Captain HENDRIX. No, it's true here. It is not true in a couple of Texas ports. But by the same token, when they are aboard that ship that is under register or that foreign-flag vessel, they are not operating under that license. They are operating only under the other license, but not under the Federal license. Mr. CLARK. Do you have any questions, Bill? Mr. ROUNTREE. I just wanted to clear up this one point that we have been discussing. Do I understand that at least it is your feeling that, as far as a judicial extent of liability on the basis of negligence, the pilot has a different standard or degree of care that he must exercise as opposed to the master and, therefore, because of this particular interpretation you feel that the pilot and the master should have the same degree of care under the ordinary negligence concept and tie that in with the license requirement? Is that it? Captain HENDRIX. Yeah, I think that's what I mean. Mr. ROUNTREE. My point is, I think that the pilot under court cases or even a statutory base has the same responsibility within the scope of his authority that the master would have, though ultimately, of course, the final decision would always be the master's. I can't see where the pilot is absolved from any type of negligence action or suit or administrative sanctions merely because he lacks or does not have a Federal license. Captain HENDRIX. Well, I see it differently. Mr. CORRADO. He is just subject to a different jurisdiction. That's your problem. He is subject to a different jurisdiction from the one you want. Captain HENDRIX. My skipper has got jurisdiction. He answers to my investigation board along with the Coast Guard. I have at Lykes Bros. my own investigation board, and we don't go by the Coast Guard. In this particular thing I am talking about, the Coast Guard only disciplined this skipper for 6 months. We fired him. We found him negligent all the way through. They found it a misjudgment in navigation or something. We said it was negligence. This was hard, in my particular case, because this was the man that I made my first trip under my license with, and I had sailed with him many years and I didn't think he could do any wrong, but he did that time. I think what I am trying to quote is what the skippers are telling me: "If we are going to be under this constant threat of a hearing if anything happens, we want this man up there with us." Mr. CORRADO. Well, I think he is still subject to a hearing and disciplinary action. I think he has a different jurisdiction and a different forum. I think that's what the problem is. Captain HENDRIX. Well, then, I prefer the Coast Guard form. Mr. CLARK. Thank you very much. Are there any other witnesses who want to be heard? The gentleman in the back. For the record, please give your name, and position, and so forth. STATEMENT OF MARTIN GOULD, PRESIDENT, NEW ORLEANSBATON ROUGE STEAMSHIP PILOTS ASSOCIATION Mr. GOULD. I am Martin Gould, president, New Orleans-Baton Rouge Steamship Pilots Association. I will have a prepared statement but after some of the comments here this morning, I would just like to make a statement for the record. I keep hearing it said that the Coast Guard does not have any jurisdiction over a pilot when he is operating under his State commission. I am not sure whether this is legally right or not, but I can testify from my own personal knowledge in the White Alder case. Our pilot was on a foreign ship, operating under State commission, and he was subpenaed by the Coast Guard and attended the full hearings that lasted some several weeks and he is under the jurisdiction of the court right now. Also he is under the jurisdiction of our commission now and we have been informed through the American Pilots Association about taking some action against him if they determine there was some negligence in this case. I can also testify to the fact that every case in our association where it has been an American ship under enrollment or under registry, any time the Coast Guard has called us and asked for a man to come in and make a statement, we furnish him with the man and it has been called in on every case for the last, say, 5 years that I know of. I am not sure whether they have this legal right but I can testify to the fact that they do do just that. Mr. CLARK. Any questions? Mr. CORRADO. No, thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. CLARK. Thank you very much. Are there any others? George. For the record would you give your name, your title, and so forth. STATEMENT OF GEORGE S. THOMPSON, PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATED BRANCH PILOTS Mr. THOMPSON. My name is George S. Thompson, president of the Associated Branch Pilots, State bar pilots for the Port of New Orleans, La. We support H.R. 8140 as proposed and do not suggest any change in the present language. |