PILOTAGE COMMISSIONERS

[Filed March 19, 2021, 8:20 a.m., effective April 19, 2021]

Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.

Purpose: The changes to this rule are necessary due to the passage of HB 1647 during the 2019 legislative session, which amended RCW 88.16.103 Mandatory rest periods for pilots and became effective July 28, 2019. This new rule will codify that pilots have a mandatory rest period of at least ten hours with the opportunity for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep after the completion of an assignment. In addition, this rule defines multiple assignments within a harbor area, and codifies and defines the existing practice of Puget Sound pilots to receive a mandatory rest period after three consecutive night assignments.

Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 363-116-081.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapter 88.16 RCW, Pilotage Act.

Adopted under notice filed as WSR 21-04-125 on February 2, 2021.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

Date Adopted: March 18, 2021.

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 97-08-042, filed 3/28/97, effective 3/28/97)

WAC 363-116-081Rest period.

(1) Pilots shall observe rest period requirements as set out in RCW 88.16.103 as now or hereafter amended. ((For purposes of applying this rule an assignment shall begin at the pilot's dispatched departure time if the pilot is on board, regardless of when the ship actually sails. The assignment ends when the pilot leaves the vessel. Travel time shall not be included in an assignment.))Pilots shall have a mandatory rest period of at least ten hours with an opportunity for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep after completion of an assignment; excluding multiple assignments within a harbor area, provided the combined total duration of assignment time does not exceed thirteen hours.

(2) An assignment is a billable pilotage service, including cancellations and ship movements, regardless of duration

(3) An assignment begins at call time and ends at check-in time and includes preparation time and travel time to and from the ship in addition to bridge time. Call time allows one to two hours of preparation before the start of travel time to the ship. Check-in time occurs when travel time from the ship is completed. In the Puget Sound Pilotage district travel times are documented in the Puget Sound pilots operating rules and may be reviewed by the board from time to time.

(4) When there are multiple assignments within a harbor area (multiple harbor shifts), call time is before the first harbor shift and check-in time occurs when the travel time has been completed after the final harbor shift. Harbor area geographic definitions outlined by the utilities and transportation commission are used to distinguish harbor shifts from other ship moves.

(5) Pilots shall not complete more than three consecutive night assignments, a night assignment being one in which any part occurs between 0100 and 0459 hours. After three consecutive night assignments, pilots shall have a mandatory rest period of at least twelve hours, including at least one period between 2000 and 0800 hours.