
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
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[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 46USC9302]

 
                           TITLE 46--SHIPPING
 
                     Subtitle II--Vessels and Seamen
 
                       Part F--Manning of Vessels
 
                    CHAPTER 93--GREAT LAKES PILOTAGE
 
Sec. 9302. Great Lakes pilots required

    (a)(1) Except as provided in subsections (d), (e), and (f) of this 
section, each vessel of the United States operating on register and each 
foreign vessel shall engage a United States or Canadian registered pilot 
for the route being navigated who shall--
        (A) in waters of the Great Lakes designated by the President, 
    direct the navigation of the vessel subject to the customary 
    authority of the master; and
        (B) in waters of the Great Lakes not designated by the 
    President, be on board and available to direct the navigation of the 
    vessel at the discretion of and subject to the customary authority 
    of the master.

    (2) The President shall make water designations under this 
subsection with regard to the public interest, the effective use of 
navigable waters, marine safety, and the foreign relations of the United 
States.
    (b) A member of the complement of a vessel of the United States 
operating on register or of a vessel of Canada may serve as the pilot 
required on waters not designated by the President if the member is 
licensed under section 7101 of this title, or under equivalent 
provisions of Canadian law, to direct the navigation of the vessel on 
the waters being navigated.
    (c) The authority extended under subsections (a) and (b) of this 
section to a Canadian registered pilot or other Canadian licensed 
officer to serve on certain vessels in United States waters of the Great 
Lakes shall continue as long as Canada extends reciprocity to United 
States registered pilots and other individuals licensed by the United 
States for pilotage service in Canadian waters of the Great Lakes.
    (d) A vessel may be operated on the United States waters of the 
Great Lakes without a United States or Canadian registered pilot when--
        (1) the Secretary notifies the master that a registered pilot is 
    not available; or
        (2) the vessel or its cargo is in distress or jeopardy.

    (e) A Canadian vessel regularly operating on the Great Lakes or 
between ports on the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River, with only 
an occasional voyage to ports in the maritime provinces of Canada in the 
Canadian coastal trade, is exempt from subsection (a) of this section as 
long as Canada permits enrolled vessels of the United States to be 
operated on Canadian waters of the Great Lakes under the direction of 
individuals licensed under section 7101 of this title.
    (f) A documented vessel regularly operating on the Great Lakes or 
between ports on the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River is exempt 
from the requirements of subsection (a) of this section.

(Pub. L. 98-89, Aug. 26, 1983, 97 Stat. 557; Pub. L. 101-380, title IV, 
Sec. 4108(a), Aug. 18, 1990, 104 Stat. 514; Pub. L. 104-324, title XI, 
Sec. 1115(b)(5)-(7), Oct. 19, 1996, 110 Stat. 3972.)

                      Historical and Revision Notes
------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Revised section                Source section (U.S. Code)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
9302(a), (b), (d).................  46:216a
9302(c)...........................  46:216f
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Section 9302 sets forth the requirements for pilots on the waters of 
the Great Lakes under the jurisdiction of the United States or Canada.
    Subsection (a) requires each United States vessel sailing on 
register and each foreign vessel to engage a United States or Canadian 
registered pilot who shall direct the navigation of the vessel in 
designated waters of the Great Lakes or be available to direct the 
navigation of the vessel in undesignated waters of the Great Lakes. The 
President must make the designation with regard to public interest, 
effective use of navigable waters, marine safety, and United States 
foreign relations. The direction of the vessel by an authorized pilot is 
subject to the customary authority of the master.
    Subsection (b) provides that a crewmember licensed for Great Lakes 
navigation under section 7101 or equivalent Canadian law may serve as 
the pilot on undesignated waters.
    Subsection (c) provides for reciprocity of recognizing United States 
and Canadian pilots.
    Subsections (d) and (e) are exceptions to subsection (a). Subsection 
(d) permits operation of a vessel on the Great Lakes without a 
registered pilot if notice is given that one is not available or if the 
vessel or cargo is in distress or jeopardy. Subsection (e) exempts a 
Canadian vessel in the coastwise or Great Lakes trade from the 
requirement of having a registered pilot if similar United States 
vessels are extended the same exemption by Canada.


                               Amendments

    1996--Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 104-324, Sec. 1115(b)(5), substituted 
``subsections (d), (e), and (f)'' for ``subsections (d) and (e)''.
    Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 104-324, Sec. 1115(b)(6), substituted 
``subsection (a)'' for ``subsections (a) and (b)''.
    Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 104-324, Sec. 1115(b)(7), added subsec. (f).
    1990--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101-380 amended subsec. (b) generally. 
Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as follows: ``An individual of a 
vessel licensed for navigation on the Great Lakes under section 7101 of 
this title, or equivalent provisions of Canadian law, and qualified for 
the route being navigated, may serve as the pilot required on waters not 
designated by the President.''


                    Effective Date of 1990 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 101-380 applicable to incidents occurring after 
Aug. 18, 1990, see section 1020 of Pub. L. 101-380, set out as an 
Effective Date note under section 2701 of Title 33, Navigation and 
Navigable Waters.

            Proc. No. 3385. Designation of Restricted Waters

    Proc. No. 3385, Dec. 22, 1960, 25 F.R. 13681, as amended by Proc. 
No. 3855, June 10, 1968, 33 F.R. 8535, provided:
    WHEREAS, pursuant to section 3(a) of the Great Lakes Pilotage Act of 
1960 (Public Law 86-555; 74 Stat. 259) [46 U.S.C. 9302(a)], the 
President is directed to designate and by proclamation announce those 
United States waters of the Great Lakes in which registered vessels of 
the United States and foreign vessels shall be required to have in their 
service a United States registered pilot or a Canadian registered pilot 
for the waters concerned; and
    WHEREAS the aforesaid section 3(a) [46 U.S.C. 9302(a)] provides that 
these designations shall be made with due regard to the public interest, 
the effective utilization of navigable waters, marine safety, and the 
foreign relations of the United States:
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, President of the United 
States of America, acting under and by virtue of the authority vested in 
me by section 3(a) of the Great Lakes Pilotage Act of 1960 [46 U.S.C. 
9302(a)], do hereby designate and proclaim the following areas in which 
registered vessels of the United States and foreign vessels shall be 
required to have in their service a United States registered pilot or a 
Canadian registered pilot for the waters concerned, on and after the 
effective date of regulations issued by the Secretary of Transportation 
pursuant to the Act:
    (1) District 1. All United States waters of the St. Lawrence River 
between the international boundary at St. Regis and a line at the head 
of the river running (at approximately 127 deg. true) between Carruthers 
Point Light and South Side Light extended to the New York shore.
    (2) District 2. All United States waters of Lake Erie westward of a 
line running (at approximately 026 deg. true) from Sandusky Pierhead 
Light at Cedar Point to Southeast Shoal Light; all waters contained 
within the arc of a circle of one mile radius eastward of Sandusky 
Pierhead Light; the Detroit River; Lake St. Clair; the St. Clair River, 
and northern approaches thereto south of latitude 43 deg.0530N.
    (3) District 3. All United States waters of the St. Marys River, 
Sault Sainte Marie Locks and approaches thereto between latitude 
45 deg.59N. at the southern approach and longitude 84 deg.33W. at the 
northern approach.
    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal 
of the United States of America to be affixed.
DONE at the City of Washington this twenty-second day of December in the 
                year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the one 
                hundred and eighty-fifth.
[seal]
                                                   Dwight D. Eisenhower.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 9308 of this title.
