Judges: DENNIS C. VACCO, Attorney General
Filed Date: 5/4/1995
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/5/2016
Hon. Robert H. Pouch Formal Opinion Secretary No. 95-F2 Board of Commissioners of Pilots of the State of New York 17 Battery Place New York, N Y 10004-1207
Dear Secretary Pouch:
You have asked whether the Board of Commissioners of Pilots has the authority to proceed against the license of a State-licensed Hudson River pilot for actions taken while he was acting as a docking master and, therefore, not acting under the auspices of his State license.
You have advised that, upon the complaint of a State-licensed pilot, the Board investigated an incident involving a ship leaving its terminal in the Arthur Kill and heading to sea through the Port of New York/New Jersey. The Board concluded that the docking master directed the ship to leave the terminal, over the objection of the pilot, in circumstances where a "prudent pilot would not commence an outbound passage".1 You ask whether the Board may consider this finding as a basis for suspending or revoking the pilot's Hudson River license. While the Board does not license or regulate docking masters, it does license and regulate Hudson River Pilots. Similarly, the Federal government does not separately license docking masters, who supervise intraport movements, often with a tug in attendance. Many docking masters do have a Federal pilot's license.
The Federal government regulates pilotage of vessels on the Great Lakes and American flag vessels sailing between American ports.
The Navigation Law establishes licensing standards. It provides:
It shall be the duty of the commissioners, before they shall grant a license to any person applying therefor, to call such applicant before them, within one month thereafter, and in the presence of one or more pilots licensed for the waters regarding which such applicant seeks to be examined, who shall be notified to attend, examine such applicant or cause him to be examined, with relation to his qualifications for the office of pilot. In case of the nonattendance of any licensed pilot so notified, the examination may be conducted in his absence. Each applicant shall be examined in particular touching his knowledge of the tides, soundings, bearings and distances of the several shoals, rocks, bars and points of land and night lights in the navigation for which he applies for a license to act as a pilot, and also touching any other matter relating thereto which the commissioners may deem proper. If upon the examination the person so applying shall be found to be of good moral character and temperate habits, and possessed of sufficient ability, skill and experience, the commissioners may grant him a license.
Id., § 92. The Board's regulations establish training requirements and provide that every license applicant shall take a written examination prescribed by the Board before appearing for oral examination.
The Board regulates piloting practices to reduce the possibility of marine disasters such as collisions and pollution caused by oil spills. It imposes the requirements discussed above to ensure that the State-licensed pilots charged with responsibility for safety are qualified by high levels of training and experience. See,
The Navigation Law empowers the Board to suspend or revoke licenses. The statute provides in part:
a. The commissioners may suspend any pilot licensed under this article at any time for any period they may deem proper, and may revoke and annul any license which shall have been granted upon satisfactory proof of negligence, carelessness, wilful dereliction of duty, or wilful disobedience by such pilot of any lawful rule or regulation duly made and promulgated by the commissioners. The pilot so suspended, at any time, upon due notice, may appeal to the commissioners for a re-hearing of his case, and such commissioners shall have power to confirm or reverse the previous decision.
Navigation Law §
Thus, the Board has broad general authority to suspend or revoke licenses in circumstances where pilots fail to adhere to the criteria under which the license was granted. As discussed above, in order to obtain a license, a pilot must demonstrate that he has sufficient ability, skill and experience to exercise the judgment needed to pilot ships safely. The incident you describe bears directly upon the docking master's judgment and his ability to pilot ships safely. This is evident in your determination that a prudent pilot would not have commenced an outbound passage in the circumstances.
Under the pilot licensing criteria, this incident involving the pilot's activities as a docking master could have been taken into consideration in deciding whether to grant a license. The incident bore directly on the pilot's judgment, the soundness of his decision making as a pilot, and his ability to pilot ships safely. The Board has specific statutory authority to consider charges of negligence or carelessness in determining whether to suspend or revoke a pilot's license. While the actions in issue did not occur while the individual was acting as a pilot, they related directly to the individual's ability to pilot boats safely on Board-regulated waters. To conclude that the Board could consider such an incident in deciding whether to grant or renew a license but not as a basis for suspension or revocation defeats the clear statutory intent, which is to ensure at all times that pilots are capable of performing their important functions.
We note that the Board has limited its action to the pilot license and has in no way interfered with the individual's ability to work as a docking master.
We conclude that the Board of Commissioners of Pilots may proceed against the license of a State-licensed Hudson River pilot for actions taken while he was acting as a docking master.
Very truly yours,
DENNIS C. VACCO
Attorney General