(1) The owner or operator of any vessel that is covered by this chapter must demonstrate financial responsibility as defined in the table below:
Vessel Type | Financial Responsibility Amounts |
Barges that transport hazardous substances in bulk as cargo | $5,000,000 or $300 per gross ton, whichever is greater |
Tank vessels, including tank barges | $1,000,000,000 |
Tank vessels, including tank barges, 300 gross tons or less | $5,000,000 or $3,000 per barrel of the barge's total capacity, whichever is greater |
Cargo vessel | $300,000,000 |
Passenger vessel | $300,000,000 |
Passenger vessels that transport passengers and vehicles between Washington and a foreign country | $500,000 or $600 per gross ton, whichever is greater |
Fishing vessel that carries predominantly nonpersistent oil | $1,334,000 or $133.40 per each barrel of total oil storage capacity, whichever is greater |
Fishing vessel that carries predominantly persistent oil | $6,670,000 or $400.20 per each barrel of total oil storage capacity, whichever is greater |
(2) A tank barge used solely as an oil spill response barge is not required to possess evidence of financial responsibility if the owner or operator submits to ecology a letter signed by an authorized representative that identifies the barge's name, official number, country of registry, and gross tonnage and certifies that:
(a) The barge is used exclusively for oil spill response activities and will not be used to carry oil in bulk in commerce; and
(b) The owner or operator is an approved primary response contractor under chapter
173-182 WAC.
If either certification becomes inaccurate, the owner or operator must notify ecology and must immediately comply with this chapter.
[Statutory Authority: Chapter
88.40 RCW. WSR 24-13-065 (Order 22-14), § 173-187-100, filed 6/14/24, effective 7/15/24.]