I am a civilian government employee working in the brown water environment. I am a towboat operator on the Western Rivers and as such hold a Master of Towing license for these waters. We have several people operating push boats with 100 Ton Masters license with Steersman’s endorsement, Mate Pilot of Towing license and even a 71 year old with an OUPV (six pack) license. They have all been pushing barges up and down the river from pontoons to regulation fuel barges in all weather conditions by themselves without the direct or indirect supervision of a captain holding a master of towing license present on the vessel or in the wheelhouse. This has been on going for over three years. Every year I as well as others have confronted management with the question of:

How can you allow these guys to operate these boats without the proper license or without someone with a master of towing license present on the boat?

Management’s typical answer has been we are a government agency our boat operators don’t have to have a Master of Towing license or they hold a 100 Ton Masters license that’s all they need. The supervisors in the chain of command all the way to the commanding officer of our district have been made aware of the situation for approximately one year now. When asked about it. They respond with we are working on it. Or, we have talked to headquarters about the situation. Yet the saga goes on.

So have I missed something in Title 46 that exempts non-military government vessels and their operators from complying with the rules?

I thought that after 40 plus passengers of an Amtrak train got killed due to the 1993 allision of a towing vessel an it’s barges with a railroad bridge near Mobile, Alabama that all operators of uninspected towing vessels needed to become compliant with the rules, i.e.: Master of Towing or a Masters of Inspected vessels license with a tonnage restriction endorsed for towing. I didn’t find anything in NVIC 04-01 that exempted government entities from complying with these requirements. This begs the question.

Why doesn’t the Coast Guard provide oversight to the various non-military government agencies such as the Corps of Engineers, Department of Interior, Fish and Game, etc. with regard to licensing and manning of government vessels?

I have proposed this question in person to several Coast Guard types from commanders/deputy commanders to examiners and this is the response I get, none wanted to go on the record. The Coast Guard will not tell another government agency how to run their shop. I could understand them not wanting to tell the U. S. Navy what to do. But I am talking about civilian government agencies operating on our inland lakes and waterways. So is this some kind of unwritten oath that the Coast Guard will look the other way when it comes to government vessels. Something like a police officer won’t rat out a fellow officer or give him a ticket because he could be there backing him up when he might need it next week. The Coast Guard is unwilling to provide the same oversight to government vessels that they provide to private industry. Because of this philosophy, captains of large floating plants up and down and across our waterways can and have abused their authority in the selection process of pilots, which are allowed to operate these vessels. Including selecting the inappropriately licensed or unlicensed individual over those that earned their Master of Towing License. Some operators have worked in the real world environment and now work for the government.

I have had the privilege to deal with the Coast Guard on many occasions and have had the greatest respect and report with their inspectors. I have also seen in private industry and government when they, the Coast Guard, were not there providing their diligent oversight that regulations where broken and ignored.

What are we as masters and pilots supposed to do, close our eyes to it, turn the other cheek and let the good old boy network advance their buddies and someday management will get them a license, hold management responsible under the Whistleblowers Act, or hold the Coast Guard accountable before congress?

Interested in hearing your input on this subject.

Thanks

Timetospeakout

From Title 46 (Shipping) USC: Chapter 2101: Public Vessel means a vessel that is owned or demised chartered and operated by the United States Government.

Chapter 2109: Except as otherwise provided, this subchapter (46) does not apply to a Public Vessel of the United States.

Bottom line: Inspection laws do not apply to Public (Government) Vessels.

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