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the coming year. According to Mr.

Farrell, the economic plight of the industry, along with a full legislative and regulatory agenda, are all com- pelling reasons for increasing the membership of AWO, and thereby increasing even further the effec- tiveness of the industry's advocacy in Washington. "I would propose that anyone contemplating joining AWO look at it in the same way he or she would look at a business investment. A business person doesn't make an investment unless they expect to get a return on that investment. And while the return AWO provides is less obvious than commercial gain,

In 1985, the depressed state of the barge and towing industry further emphasized the longstanding need to secure a reasoned and stable reg- ulatory environment for domestic marine transportation. This elusive goal took on greater importance as the dilemma of too many vessels chasing too few cargoes continued unabated. However, without appar- ent recognition of the industry's precarious economic condition, fed- eral regulatory proposals continued to be generated by the agencies of government, often carrying with it is nonetheless a real return, one which hits right on a company's bot- tom line," Mr. Farrell said. "There is no doubt that the feder- al government on an annual basis makes hundreds of decisions which land right on the barge and towing industry's bottom line. Everyone in- volved in this industry needs to know what the government is think- ing about, what they're planning to do, and as a member of AWO to intercept that process in a way that effectively represents their compa- ny's interests. That translates di- rectly to dollars and cents on any issues decision," he said. them burdensome requirements which threatened the fragile state of barge and towing operations.

In 1986, the industry must pursue sane regulatory stability both as a matter of national maritime policy and through specific efforts in re- sponse to individual agency propos- als and initiatives. Similarly, the industry must continue to speak out in a national voice to the agencies of government—a voice that calls for a regulatory climate which encour- ages the efficiency of vessels and waterways operations and recog- nized the industry's current plight.

Industry efforts in 1985 to intercept and influence the regulatory process produced several notable achieve- ments.

One of the major challenges of 1985 dealt with an issue which had the potential to severely disrupt in- dustry operations and substantially increase industry costs. The statu- tory recodification of Title 46 of the U.S. Code effected numerous changes characterized as neither substantive nor controversial. One such change was to modernize and standardize the references in Title 46 to licensed "persons" and "offi- cers," to that of "licensed individu- als." That single stylistic change threatened the longstanding use of the two-watch system aboard tow- ing vessels.

The two-watch system has for de- cades been the standard operational practice aboard towing vessels. In 1973, the enactment of the Towing

Vessel Operator Licensing Act re- quired for the first time that the operators of non-steam propelled tugs be licensed by the Coast Guard.

That statute also provided that these licensed operators not per- form their duties in excess of 12 hours in any 24-hour period, there- by maintaining the use of a two- watch standard.

However, the enactment of the 1973 law soon gave rise to a watch- standing question: were the "li- censed operators" of towing vessels also "licensed officers" and there- fore subject to the three-watch re- quirement of the 1915 Seaman's

Act? Two administrative decisions in 1974 and 1975 concluded that towing vessel operators were not governed by the three-watch re- quirement of the Seaman's Act. The first decision was based on the find- ing that the 12-hour requirement of the 1973 Licensing Act demon- strated the specific intent of Con- gress with respect to towing vessel watchstanding, and that the three- watch requirement was inconsistent with that intent; the second decision found that licensed "operators" were not "officers," and that the watchstanding rule for "licensed of- ficers" was therefore not applica- ble.

The intent of Congress reflected in the 1973 Licensing Act, fortified by two separate administrative deci- sions, was threatened by the stylis- tic modification of the Title 46 re- codification. Indeed, the initial reaction of the Coast Guard was to conclude that the recodified statute required all licensed personnel on towing vessels, operators as well as officers, to sail under a three-watch system on voyages of 600 miles or more.

AWO formed a working group of its members to pursue this matter with the Coast Guard. This working group of members and staff met with the Coast Guard to present legal memoranda which demon- strated that from the multiple per- spectives of statutory construction, legislative history, and administra- tive interpretation, there was no ba- sis to conclude that the longstand- ing watchstanding practices em- ployed aboard towing vessels should be changed. The weight of the in- dustry's argument was compelling, and succeeded in persuading the

Coast Guard to allow towing vessel operators to continue to utilize the two-watch system. This opinion provides a strong foundation for the continued preservation of reason- able watchstanding requirements on towing vessels.

On another regulatory front, there was a major triumph on the pilotage issue after years of sus- tained effort. In June 1985, the

Coast Guard issued a Final Rule authorizing tug masters, mates, and operators to qualify as pilots of coastwise petroleum tank barges of less than 10,000 gross tons, thereby alleviating the unnecessary and costly burden on operators of these units to use independent first-class pilots.

The genesis of the pilotage issue has much in common with that of the watchstanding controversy.

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Circle 255 on Reader Service Card

For further information on the activities of the American Waterways

Operators Inc., (the national association of the barge and towing industry) and the benefits of membership, write to the American

Waterways Operators, Inc. 1600 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1000,

Arlington Virginia 22209 (telephone: 703/841-9300).

INTERCEPTING

AND INFLUENCING

THE REGULATORY PROCESS

By Thomas A. Allegretti,

Vice President-Operations,

The American Waterways Operators, Inc.

Thomas A. Allegretti

March, 1986 49