Viking no show?

Modeling Subjects Ships
1

I am planning to go to Duluth next month for the Tall Ships visit. One of the highlights this year was to be a visit by a Viking longship, which has made at all the way across the Atlantic and is now on the Great Lakes (Lake Huron), but it may go no further! The group that owns it cannot afford the $400,000 pilot fees to take it the rest of the way to Duluth! They had hoped to get a waiver from the pilot requirement, since it is not a commercial ship, but it looks like the US Coast Guard will not approve the waiver. Groups around the lakes are trying to raise money from contributions, but there isn’t much time. That was going to be a real highlight for me.

Seeing the giant yellow rubber duckie just will not be as much of a highlight to me :frowning:

2

I’m a big fan of the Coast Guard, but it does sound like somebody went a bit overboard this time. I’m sure there are at least two sides to the issue, though.

My wife and I saw the Big Rubber Duck when he was in the pool in front of the Chrysler Museum of Art, in Norfolk. We had the same reaction everybody else has had: “Man, that’s one big rubber duck.” But I am glad I saw it.

3

Perhaps, this might be a ridiculous suggestion, but could the Viking ship be loaded onto a long flatbed truck and be driven around the obstacle, thereby avoiding the penalty ? There are creative ways to fight stubborn bureauracy by declaring the ship as highway cargo.

Happy modeling Crackers [;)]

4

I don’t know anything about such things, but a $400,000 pilot fee? Really?

I’m not questioning you, Don. I know this is what at least one media outlet is reporting.

5

Sounded kind of high to me as well…they only want to cross, not buy all of them.

Sounds like it is time to plant a bug in the ear of the Senators and Reps from MN. Afew phone calls from several people might get some action.

6

That’s funny. [:D]

7

Hey Don !

That’s about what Shell paid to get through the Panama Canal in a Pre - Panamax tanker .Someone’s trying to get a pocketfull . T.B.

8

Part of the problem seems to be that a “museum” ship does not fit any ordinary definition of which ships need pilots.

Turns out several pilots have offered to pilot the ship without pay, but their union is prohibiting that. Wife and I wonder if union is pressuring Coast Guard.

BTW, fee is $400 per hour.

Also- different museum ships- we went to visit Nina and Pinta replicas in Hudson, Wi yesterday. I will post pics in a few days.

9

Thank you Don for the additional input.

I’m going to assume the media got the $400 k wrong, but the main thing is I hope the ship finds it’s way to it’s destination because you were looking forward to seeing it.

10

Interesting enough that I spent this morning reading.

Pilot fees are proposed by the Saint Lawrence Seaway Pilots Association ( the St. Lawrence Seaway and Lake Ontario, also known as District 1), the Lakes Pilots Association ( Lake Erie, the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers, also known as District 2), and Western Great Lakes Pilots Association ( Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron, the Soo Locks and the St. Mary’s River, also known as District 3). And in conjunction with Canada’s Great Lakes Pilotage Association. The Department of Transportation, the Department of Homeland Security have final jurisdiction, and the USCG is placed with the duty of administration.

Under the Great Lake Pilotage Act of 1960, the rates are reviewed yearly by the Federal Government. The usual goal is to audit the pilots associations, to compare current rates to projected revenues from the USCG, and to have parity with the rates of Canada and the other maritime associations. A large percent of the increase would be borne by foreign flag operators.

What I see at issue here (and I’m not a lawyer or have any meaningful knowledge of the issues) is that the pilotage fees last set in 2015 were increased in 2016 by as much as 58% over the next two years, reflecting the process outlined above. In response, a group of port associations and shipping interests have sued the Federal Government over the increases.

The Draken Harald was built and funded through the generosity of the Norwegian oil and gas magnate Sigurd Aase. He is CEO of a giant corporation, Crudecorp. It’s owned and operated through an entity called Drakenexpedition that Aase controls. Crudecorp of course relies on shipping to move and sell its products.

The $ 400,000 figure was put out by that group as an estimate of the pilotage costs for the entire summer, including a trip down to Chicago. That seems about right, $ 10,000 per day times 40 days. It really has nothing to do with the Tall Ships event in Duluth, which is three days.

To say that the fees came as a surprise smells oily to me. And to pay them, which is commensurate with the fees imposed on other commercial vessels, also seems well within their reach. But its not my money.

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A+ from me for your research and for taking the time to pass it along. That’s all really very interesting. Thank you!

Who can tell me what ship pilot captains, harbor captains, etc actually do? Do they actually control the ships telling the normal control-handlers every move to make as a captain might, or do they just stand by and make sure the boat doesn’t run into anything or run ashore?

I’d think different ships would be too different for strangers to waltz in and take total control of the bridge. Am I even close?

12

Here’s the NYTimes article from 3 days ago:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/22/us/viking-ship-draken-harald-harfagre-great-lakes.html?contentCollection=weekendreads&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=c-column-middle-span-region&region=c-column-middle-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-middle-span-region&_r=0

13

Looks like union busting to me.