Page 43: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 1994)

remained in legislative limbo. HR 3282 calls for towing vessels to carry navigational charts and publica- tions, compasses or swing meters, fathometers, and radar, and directs that vessel personnel be proficient in their use. AWO's board of direc- tors voted overwhelmingly to sup- port HR 3282 and AWO, along with

Secretary of Transportation

Federico Pena, has urged its en- actment before the one-year anni- versary of the Amtrak accident on

September 22. The bill was passed unanimously by voice vote in the

House Coast Guard and Navigation

Subcommittee in April.

HR 4058, in addition to incorpo- rating the increased navigational equipment requirements of HR 3282, calls for vessel inspection, U.S.

Coast Guard (USCG)-prescribed manning scales, and deep-sea crewing requirements. HR 4058 is without consensus, as its approach woodenly imposes on the towing industry a regulatory regime which was never developed with the tow- ing industry in mind. Furthermore, the bill misses the mark on what statistics point to as the real cause of vessel accidents — human error.

The next bill faces mark-up in the full House Merchant Marine and

Fisheries Committee, although at press time, no time-frame had yet been established.

The post-Amtrak safety debate vill ultimately result in safer wa- erways. It has also had the very teneficial effect of propelling for- ward a cooperative and effective artnership between government— le Congress, Department of Trans- ortation, USCG, and the National ransportation Safety Board—and le barge and towing industry. The awing Safety Advisory Commit- e, a Congressionally-chartered mmittee which provides advice to e USCG on matters related to the fe operation of towing vessels and rges, has played an integral role the partnership. »A '90 & Financial sponsibility

Vhile safety remains our primary is, AWO is keeping a close eye on 3r activities as well. On July 1, rly three years after its original )osal, the USCG published in

Federal Register an interim fi- rule specifying procedures by :h vessel and operators may in the certificates of financial onsibility (COFRs) required by }il Pollution Act of 1990. le rule requires vessel owners 3ve they can pay for a potential up to the limits of liability es- >hed by OPA 90 via an insur- guaranty, surety bond guar- financial guaranty, or self- ance. The USCG's rule is y identical to the September

Notice of Proposed laking, which provoked strong tion from vessel owners and ternational Group of Protec-

Indemnity (P&I) Clubs. The s problematic for both large lall companies; large compa- nnot self-insure their compa- nies without a USCG waiver, which will be granted on a case-by-case basis. The rule represents equal problems for smaller companies which now must find a new insurer, at potentially enormous cost, be- cause the USCG will not allow exist- ing P&I coverage to serve as evi- dence of financial responsibility.

From the beginning of this debate,

AWO has urged the USCG not to move forward with a rule which could trigger a shutdown in the waterborne transportation of pe- troleum in the U.S.

Fuel Tax

While the Administration's pro- posed $1 per gallon fuel tax in- creased on the inland waterways was soundly defeated in 1993, AWO continues to watch closely for pro- posals which may look to raise user fees or increase the Inland Water- ways Fuel Tax. Although there were persistent rumors that the Adminis- tration was considering a range of new user fees and increased fuel taxes as part of its FY '95 budget, the budget did not include any new pro- posals to levy user fee or fuel charges on the industry. AWO strongly sup- ports the effort to inject greater cost control into the Army Corps of Engi-

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