§8503 Federal pilots authorized

Summary

The Secretary can require a licensed pilot on a self-propelled vessel when state law does not already require one, if the vessel is in foreign commerce and is operating in U.S. internal waters or within 3 nautical miles of the baselines used to measure the U.S. territorial sea. That requirement stops when the state that controls the area adopts its own rule for a state-licensed pilot and tells the Secretary. For the Saint Lawrence Seaway, the Secretary may only give this power to the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. Anyone who breaks this rule or its regulations can be fined up to $25,000, with each day the violation continues counted as a separate fine, and the vessel itself can be held responsible. If the violation is done knowingly, it is a Class D felony.