[Ted Davisson]

Greetings From New Orleans ,

Tom , great questions and I appreciate your interest and if I don't answer them all to your satisfaction please let me know .

First of all , and on the ships , the Captain is technically ALWAYS in charge regardless of nationality and license and the only exception to that is in the Panama Canal , where the Pilot actually IS in charge of the vessel . Now , having said that , when the Pilot comes on board and takes the Con , from a broad and practical stand point , the Pilot is in charge of the safe navigation of the vessel . Furthermore , it is the shipping company's policy and not a Coast Guard mandate where the Captain must position himself during the vessels transit on the river . Usually , the Captain remains on the Bridge of the ship during the trip but every so often the Captain will tell me he has " Paper Work " to complete and slip off to his cabin and in all likely hood get in a quick nap . Generally speaking , it will take anywhere from 18 to 24 hours to make a transit up the river from the Sea Buoy to Baton Rouge , and usually these Captains are both physically and mentally exhausted during this trip . Many times the Captain will tell me out right that he is going to his cabin and the Chief Mate will assist me , if need be and he is only one deck away and he has his portable vhf radio with him for on board communication at all times .

There have been many , many dissertations on the role of the Pilot with regards to his relationship with the Captain but on the river , the Pilot is viewed as a navigation officer that is there to assist the Captain with the safe navigation of the vessel . Furthermore , from a libel standpoint , that is the way that most Pilots and Pilot Associations want it to be in order to limit our personal liability status . Now having said that , there has been a conscientious move by the Coast Guard to subjugate the relationship of the Pilot and Captain and to make the Pilot MORE responsible for all that takes place on board a vessel as it transits the river .

As far as the tug boat issue goes , the ship's agent is responsible for ordering the tug boats for a maneuvering assignment and when I go on board and access the situation , I have the authority to either order more or for that matter to discharge a tug if I don not feel that his presence is necessary . There have only been a few times that I and the Captain and or agent have butted heads over the number of tugs that I feel is necessary to safely perform a maneuvering assignment and I do have the legal option to literally tell the Captain , OK , if you feel that we do not need an additional tug , well then YOU do the maneuver and hand him over my portable vhf radio ! This action by me will get his attention and understanding of my strong and experienced opinion quicker than anything else ! One way that I look at it is simply an additional tug boat is simply a cheap insurance policy that as we are maneuvering , there will be sufficient tug power to safely complete the maneuver . I also will tell a Captain and or agent , that if you feel safety is expensive , well then try having an accident ! That will convince the Captain if nothing else will that that additional tug expense if not that big an issue !

Hope this may answer some of your questions concerning this matter and please if you have more let me know and I will attempt to answer them .

Smooth Sailing !
Ted Davisson
WA-4141

Originally Posted by Tom Schiffer

Ted: Thanks for your reply. Where is the ship's captain in all this, physically and legally? Now, sometimes the ship needs assistance in docking involving the tugs that you talk about. Said assistance costs money, no doubt. Who is authorized to order them out, how many and what kind needed?? This obviously has to be arranged well ahead of time for it to all come together properly. Is there a flat-fee for traversing the port, or is it on a sliding scale based upon tonnage? Is there a pecking order for coming up or down river (ie pax vessels vs freighters). I hate to be a pest, but I AM interested. I think mebbe others are too. Cap'n Walnut.