Docking pilot given written reprimand

SOUTH PORTLAND – A board that oversees safety in Portland Harbor has reprimanded a docking pilot for his role in an accident in which a tanker slammed into the bumpers protecting Casco Bay Bridge.

The written reprimand was part of a settlement that ends a legal dispute between Arthur Fournier and the Board of Harbor Commissioners.

Under Thursday’s settlement, commissioners agreed not to try to suspend Fournier’s license, and he dropped a federal lawsuit.

The written reprimand cites “imperfect communications” between Fournier and the captain of the Hawk. The Coast Guard earlier concluded that a lack of communication was behind the mishap on May 6, 2002.

The 31,000-ton Hawk, a Greek-flagged tanker, struck a glancing blow against the drawbridge, causing $1 million in damage.

The bumpers protecting the bridge support collapsed as designed, absorbing the crash’s impact and saving the bridge from structural damage.

Fournier is one of Portland Harbor’s licensed docking pilots, or docking masters, who board tankers and cargo ships to guide them in and out of the inner harbor with the help of tugboats.

He and two other pilots who work with his company dock 99 percent of the ships visiting Portland Harbor.

In addition to accepting the reprimand, Fournier agreed to work with the harbor commission to develop new local protocols and rules to ensure proper communication between docking pilots and ship captains.

Federal rules already exist requiring clear communication when pilots go aboard ships, but the harbor commission does not have any specific guidelines in its local licensing rules.

“I think that what we are doing here tonight speaks very well for the future safety and security of Portland Harbor,” said Richard Ingalls, chairman of the harbor commission.

A miscommunication also was responsible for a more serious accident involving an oil tanker and the old Million Dollar Bridge in September 1996.

In that crash, the docking pilot issued the wrong command, causing the Julie N to strike the bridge and spilling 170,000 gallons of oil into Portland Harbor.

No one was hurt and no oil spilled in the incident with the Hawk, which was hauling fuel oil from a refinery in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, into Portland Harbor at the time.