Pilots st. Lawrence sea way

PILOTS GREAT LAKES
Latest American Great Lakes Pilots statement on Tall Ships pilotage issue

8/7 - Port Huron, Mich. – American Great Lakes Pilots are surprised that the Draken Viking Ship Organization has decided to skip the Duluth Tall Ships Festival. To date, the American pilotage fees that the Viking Ship has incurred up to arriving at the Port of Green Bay total $79,000. The latest estimates with the vessel traveling at 8.5 knots speed bring down the total round trip transit costs to $145,000, very near the $140,000 that has already been raised from donations.

They are continuing to claim high pilotage fees and confusion that they were misinformed prior to setting sail from Norway April 26th as the reason they are skipping Duluth. The laws and costs were made very clear to the Tall Ships America organization and the Draken organization in a series of meetings and direct communications with the US Coast Guard and the pilot companies last fall and throughout the winter. The US pilotage regulations base their requirements on whether a foreign flag vessel is conducting commercial activity on the Great Lakes, such as collecting fees to attend events and providing tours for paying passengers, much like cruise ships. The Draken Harald Harfagre is certified as an oceangoing commercial cargo vessel with the Norwegian Maritime Authorities.

In October of 2015, the US pilot companies handling pilotage where the events are scheduled, sent estimates of $192,000 for the Viking Ship’s pilotage costs at the request of Tall Ships America Director, Patricia Lock, for their whole itinerary on the Great Lakes. That figure, based on 6 knots speed, was later revised downward by 15% after the new lower rates were published April 1st. In November the spokesperson of the Draken Expedition, Woodrow Wiest, acknowledged that pilotage was mandatory for the entire Great Lakes in an email circulated to all pilotage districts by the US Coast Guard. In addition, a meeting was held in Cleveland in February attended by Patricia Lock, the US Coast Guard Director of Great Lakes Pilotage Todd Haviland and all three US pilotage district presidents to discuss US pilotage rules and rates. It was made clear that there would be no exceptions to the US regulations for the tall ships.

Great Lakes pilots work for the American people and play an important role in the safety and protection of the largest body of freshwater in the world. Foreign vessels big and small employ pilots to navigate the intricate channels and dangerous shoals to prevent accidents and environmental catastrophes.

We also protect the lives of those on board vessels and regret that we have been classified as useless, over paid and unnecessary in some media articles. The recent groundings of the tall ship Pathfinder, twice in the last 30 days, signify that hiring local pilots can be a good policy to insure safety. The groundings took place July 12th at Southeast Shoal in Lake Erie and August 3rd at Peche Island Light in the Detroit River. In both cases, the vessel was passing on the wrong side of a major navigational light marking a shoal. The vessel again narrowly missed grounding a third time in the Detroit River after being released August 3rd. The tall ship was heading outside of the safe channel but changed course quickly after being warned by a US registered pilot on a passing foreign vessel that they were in danger. The Pathfinder did not have a registered pilot on board and is exempt from pilotage requirements under Canadian law.

Over the last forty years, there have been frequent tall ship events held on the Great Lakes. Foreign flag ships that required pilots have regularly attended them and collected significant fees. They came and left without any public campaign to fund their costs. The Viking Ship organization cannot say that pilotage fees and misinformation is the reason for disappointing the people of Minnesota and Duluth when those people have already funded their pilotage costs.

Lakes Pilots Association