California Code of Regulations › Title 7 - Harbors and Navigation › Division 2 - State Board of Pilot Commissioners for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun › Article 6 - Government of Pilots, Inland Pilots and Trainees › Section 219 - Duties of Pilots

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a)
				Each pilot, either in person or in the case of a pilot, through the Port Agent,
				shall bill and use all legal means to collect from each vessel or other
				responsible party the surcharges established by the Code and the Board and
				shall transmit all such revenues to the Board monthly or at such later time as
				the Board may direct. Each pilot, either in person or through the Port Agent,
				shall bill and use all legal means to collect the pension plan surcharge from
				each vessel or other responsible party at the rates determined pursuant to
				Section 1165 of the Code, and shall
				transmit monthly all such revenues to the fiduciary agent selected by the Board
				pursuant to Section
				1162 of the Code. The Port Agent or
				any pilot may petition the Board for approval to cease or limit collection
				efforts required by this section on the basis that such efforts would not be
				economic in light of the costs of collection. The Board may approve such
				petition if, in the opinion of the Board, such efforts would not be economic in
				light of the costs of collection. The Administrative Assistant/Secretary shall
				record the accounts in full detail in a book prepared for that purpose, which
				account book shall be a public record.
(b) A pilot designated by the Port Agent to
				pilot the next vessel requiring a pilot shall be on call, alert, and
				immediately available for assignment by the pilot office dispatcher. Every
				pilot is required to perform his or her full share of assignments as a pilot
				unless prevented by illness or other cause satisfactory to the Port Agent and
				the Board.
(c) The pilots shall
				keep one pilot boat cruising outside of the Bar for known arrivals and
				departures, except when an emergency condition exists or when the Bar is
				closed.
(d) A pilot on board a
				cruising pilot boat shall always take inbound vessels which desire the services
				of a pilot in their order of arrival. In case of simultaneous arrivals, the
				vessel closest to shore shall have priority. Except in cases of distress or
				medical emergency, vessels providing sufficient advance notification shall have
				priority over vessels providing insufficient or no notification.
(e) A pilot shall not leave a vessel outward
				bound inside the ten fathom curve without the express consent of the vessel's
				master.
(f) Pilot boats shall not
				be permitted to leave their particular service in port or at sea, except to
				assist a vessel in distress unless authorized by the Board or requested by the
				Coast Guard to do so.
(g) When a
				vessel with an assigned pilot on board is involved in a navigational incident,
				including, but not limited to, all incidents involving the grounding of a
				vessel, the striking of any object or injury or damage to persons or property,
				the pilot shall, as soon as possible, duties permitting, notify the Port Agent
				of the navigational incident by the most rapid means available. The pilot
				assigned to the vessel at the time of the navigational incident shall render a
				full and truthful signed written report of the navigational incident to the
				Board within a reasonable time after the incident. The statement required by
				this subsection shall not be used in evidence against a pilot in any hearing
				conducted pursuant to Section
				221, except for the purpose of
				impeachment.
(h) There shall be at
				least two pilot boats in commission at all times, unless the Board has
				authorized a lesser number.
(i) A
				pilot shall not be permitted to use any pilot boat which has not been approved
				by the Board as a safe and suitable vessel for pilotage service. Each pilot
				boat shall be surveyed at least once every two years by a surveyor approved by
				the Board and shall not be operated unless the surveyor has rendered a written
				report that the boat is in a good and seaworthy condition with respect to its
				hull and equipment.
(j) A pilot or
				the Port Agent, when notified to report in person to the Board, shall report as
				directed in the notification.
(k) A
				pilot shall pilot only the vessels assigned to him or her by the Port
				Agent.
(l) A pilot shall keep his
				or her current address and residence telephone number on file with the Board by
				submitting the required information to the Administrative Assistant/Secretary
				in a timely fashion.
(m) A pilot
				shall obey all regulations of the Board.
(n) All accounts rendered to the Board by or
				on behalf of a pilot shall be true and correct to the best of the pilot's
				knowledge and belief. A pilot is under a duty to inform himself or herself as
				to facts contained in any such accounting rendered to the Board.
(o) A pilot shall not be absent from duty for
				more than 30 consecutive days without obtaining a leave of absence from the
				Board, unless such absence from duty is for medical reasons.
(p) A pilot absent from duty for medical
				reasons for more than seven consecutive days shall provide the Port Agent and
				the Executive Director with a doctor's prognosis, if possible, of when the
				pilot will be fit to return to duty. If the medical condition causing the
				absence continues for either 30 consecutive days or a total of 30 days in any
				60 day period, a fitness determination shall be required in accordance with
				Section 217.25(a).
(q) A pilot shall exhibit his or her license
				when requested to do so by the master of any vessel which the pilot has
				boarded.
(r) A pilot shall not
				perform any of the duties of a pilot while intoxicated or under the influence
				of any substance or combination of substances which so affects his or her
				nervous system, brain or muscles as to impair, to an appreciable degree, the
				ability to properly perform his or her duties.
(s) A pilot shall not, through ignorance,
				willfulness or neglect, run a vessel on shore, or otherwise render a vessel
				liable for damage to persons, property or the marine environment during the
				performance of his or her duties as a pilot.
(t) A pilot shall always obey the applicable
				Rules of the Road for the navigation of vessels and shall, under all
				circumstances, perform his or her duties in a manner so as not to endanger
				persons, property or the marine environment or cause damage, injury or loss of
				life.
(u) While engaged in any
				piloting activity, a pilot shall obey all applicable laws and conduct himself
				or herself so as not to cause injury or damage to persons, property or the
				marine environment.
(v) Upon being
				directed by the Port Agent to obtain drug or alcohol testing pursuant to the
				requirements of Section
				218, the pilot shall expeditiously
				proceed, piloting duties and safety permitting, to an appropriate facility used
				by the pilots for drug or alcohol testing and meeting U.S. Coast Guard
				requirements (currently at Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Section
				40.81), and shall obtain such drug
				or alcohol testing, as directed. An unreasonable failure by a pilot to obtain
				drug or alcohol testing as directed shall result in a rebuttable presumption
				that the pilot had been impaired by drug or alcohol while on duty in violation
				of Harbors and Navigation Code Section
				1181(f).
(w) When a pilot is assigned to a vessel for
				remedial, refresher or continued training, a supervisory pilot shall be
				assigned who shall retain the ultimate responsibility for the safe pilotage of
				the vessel throughout the time that the supervisory pilot is on
				board.
(x) The license of any pilot
				who fails a chemical test for dangerous drugs as defined in Section
				202 of this Chapter, shall be
				immediately suspended, and if the charge of failing a chemical test for
				dangerous drugs is proven following a hearing pursuant to Harbors and
				Navigation Code Section
				1182,
				the license shall be revoked.
(y) A
				pilot shall be equipped with a portable pilot unit while piloting, except as
				provided in subsection (y)(3) below.
(1) The
				portable pilot unit shall have, at a minimum, the capability to display the
				following information:
(A) Electronic
				navigational charts published by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
				Administration (NOAA), Office of Coast Survey, or any succeeding
				agency,
(B) The piloted vessel's
				position and heading on the electronic navigation charts to the accuracy
				required by the International Maritime Organization for Automatic
				Identification Systems, and
(C)
				Other navigational information provided through the piloted vessel's Automatic
				Identification System pilot plug.