BOARD OF PILOTS
MINUTES
DATE:April 22, 2005
PLACE:500 N. Calvert Street
3rd Floor Conference Room
Baltimore, MD 21202
PRESENT:Jerald Lurie, Esquire, Chairman
Ileana O’Brien, DLLR
Eric Carlson
Donald Carroll, Jr.
Captain Brian Hope
Captain Thomas Macdonald
Captain Eric Nielsen
Paul Swensen
Captain George Walter
OTHERS PRESENT:Gregory Safko, Commissioner
Thomas Lee Woods, Executive Director
Pamela J. Edwards, Assistant Executive Director
Elizabeth Trimble, Esquire, Counsel to the Board
Captain Randall Bourgeois
James Bartlett, Esquire
Joseph Wyatt
Captain Mark Adams
Michael Lavin
Captain Joseph Krause
David Krause
Allan Hillman, Esquire
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 January 14, 2005 meeting.
REPORT OF THE INCIDENT COMMITTEE
Captain Macdonald gave the following report on open incidents:
Incident 125 – Investigator’s report is complete and was sent to Coast Guard headquarters for approval. Captain Macdonald recommended that the Board wait for the report before taking any action.
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Incident 126 - Investigation near completion. Will be no recommendation of action against the pilot. Recommend wait for report.
Incident 127 – Investigation report completed by state investigator and discussed by Incident Committee. Case will be sent to the Assistant Attorney General for pre-charge review. Recommend that if AAG prepares charges against pilot, case be heard by Administrative Law Judge.
Motion (II) was made by Captain Macdonald, seconded by Mr. Swensen, and unanimously carried to wait for the investigation report for Incident 125 before taking any action.
Motion (III) was made by Captain Macdonald, seconded by Mr. Swensen, and unanimously carried to wait for the investigation report for Incident 126 before taking any action.
Motion (IV) was made by Captain Macdonald, seconded by Mr. Swensen, and unanimously carried to refer Incident 127 to the Assistant Attorney General for pre-charge review; and if a hearing is recommended that the matter be heard by an Administrative Law Judge.
Captain Macdonald said three letters of complaint were received concerning pilots’ behavior. Two of the incidents were handled by the Association of Maryland Pilots. The third instance involved a pilot complaining about another pilot’s behavior while performing job duties. The matter was discussed by the Association’s Board of Supervisors and no action was taken. Captain Macdonald said that no action is required by the Board on any of the instances.
Motion (V) was made by Captain Macdonald, seconded by Captain Nielsen, and unanimously carried by the Board to accept the report.
Chairman Lurie said these type of complaints should be logged separately from Incidents. He also requested that letters be sent to the parties involved informing them of the resolutions of each complaint.
On behalf of the Association, Captain Nielsen said he had no additional incidents to report.
PILOT COMPLEMENT REPORT
Captain Nielsen said the first of the Association’s reports has been changed to “Arrivals” and shows an increase in the arrivals of ships in the last few years.
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The second report shows the ages of the pilots and includes docking pilots and pilots-in-training. The third report indicates pilot years of service and includes pilots-in-training. The fourth one shows the number of retiring pilots through 2013. The fifth report shows the projected pilot complement through 2013 based on predicted retirements. The sixth one shows the foreign cargo data from 1990 through 2003 as supplied by the Maryland Port Administration. Data for the first nine months of 2004 is attached to the report and shows an 45.6% increase in foreign commerce but only a 9% increase in vessel calls. This data will be utilized to assist the Board in determining the number of pilots-in-training to select in fall 2005.
Captain Nielsen said the final report, “Ship Movements and Pilot Complement”, will be phased out.
It was noted that the number of berth movements has increased and this issue is to be addressed. Captain Nielsen stated that he is keeping track of that data as well and will develop a format to report said information to the Board.
PILOT-IN-TRAINING SELECTION COMMITTEE
Captain Hope said the Committee reviewed approximately 120 applications and selected 30 applicants to interview. Interviews will be held on six days. From the 30 who will be interviewed, the Committee will select a list of 10 or 12 candidates for pilot-in-training. The list will be in effect for 2 years. The Committee will present the list at October Board meeting and the Board can determine the number of pilots-in-training to select. Captain Hope said the Committee will continue the practice of asking candidates to make trips down bay as it is very helpful.
WORK RULES COMMITTEE
Chairman Lurie reported that no work rules affecting safety have been approved by the Association.
FINAL ACTION ON REGULATIONS – COMAR 09.26.01, .02 and .05
Ms. Trimble said final action is needed to adopt the proposed amendments to the regulations relating to the complaint procedure, change of term “apprentice” to “pilot-in-training”, candidate list, and cross training. This action was published in the Maryland Register on January 21, 2005. No comments were received from the public.
Motion (VI) was made by Mr. Carroll, seconded by Mr. Swensen to approve the proposed amendments. Ms. O’Brien said the change to regulation 09.26.02.02 requires that a new list be prepared before the expiration of the current list. If this becomes effective prior to the October Board meeting, the Board would be without a list because the current one expires in June and a new one will not be ready until the October meeting. She suggested that the Board consider delaying the effective date of
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Regulation 09.26.02.02. Ms. Edwards will check with the Maryland Register staff to determine if this is feasible. After discussion, motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
Captain Hope said the Committee has reviewed applications from graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. These two institutions are not currently included on the Board’s list of “approved” maritime institutions. Captain Hope said they are accredited maritime institutions and should be added to the Board’s list of acceptable maritime institutions for purposes of apprentice selection. The Board members agreed.
Mr. Woods informed the Board that the deadline for submission of legislation to the Secretary’s office is July 1, 2005. If the Board wants to submit legislation, they must be prepared to do so at the June meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, motion (VII) was made by Captain Walter, seconded by Captain Macdonald and unanimously carried by the Board to adjourn the meeting at 11:30 a.m.
With Corrections
Without Corrections