To reducing the risk of marine casualties when a vessel is operating with a local pilot on board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a series of safety recommendations related to reducing the risk of marine casualties when a vessel is operating with a local pilot on board.
The recommendations are largely derived from the investigation into the January 23, 2010 accident in which the 810-foot-long tanker Eagle Otome collided with the 597-foot-long general cargo vessel Gulf Arrow at the Port of Port Arthur.
Recommendations are made to the US Coast Guard to, among other things, conduct a ports and waterways safety assessment of the Sabine-Neches Waterway; to the Jefferson and Orange County Board of Pilot Commissioners to, among other things, implement a fatigue mitigation and prevention program among the Sabine pilots; to the Sabine Pilots Association to ensure that member pilots follow guidelines with respect to division of duties and responsibilities; to the Governors of states and territories in which state and local pilots operate to, among other things, promulgate hours of service rules that prevent fatigue; and to the American Pilots’ Association to advise members to consistently identify vessels by name in bridge-to-bridge communication.
Source: National Transportation Safety Board