Photo: Draken Expedition/Peder Jacobsson
The Pepsi Tall Ships Chicago 2016 festival begins tomorrow, July 27th, and runs for five days through the 31st, at Chicago’s Navy Pier on Lake Michigan. One of the participating ships was expected to be the replica Viking longship Draken Harald Hårfagre.
Earlier this month we posted that the replica Viking longship Draken Harald Hårfagre may be forced from the Tall Ships Challenge 2016 by pilotage fees. After successfully crossing the Atlantic to participate in Tall Ships America‘s Tall Ship Challenge 2016, the cost of pilotage in the Great Lakes threatened to turn the ship back. The Draken Expedition has believed that as a non-profit sail training ship, they would exempt from the pilotage requirments. While that may be true in Canadian waters, in the US portion of the Great Lakes, the ship is required to carry a pilot aboard. The cost of pilotage could reach as high as $400,000, a sum well beyond the means of the Draken Expedition. So far, the Draken Expedition has raised enough money to travel to the recent tall ship’s festival in Bay City, MI and potentially to the Chicago festival. Whether the expedition will be able to continue her planned tour of the Great Lakes is uncertain. The Sons of Norway have raised over $70,000 thus far to keep the ship sailing. Click here to donate.
How did this happen? The problem seems to have been due in large part to confusion over rules and a breakdown in communications. In Canadian waters, foreign vessels under 35-meters and 1,500 gross tons may not be required to carry a pilot aboard. In US Great Lakes waters, however, any non-recreational foreign flag vessel is required to carry a pilot, which can cost, on average, $400 an hour. Certain US and Canadian shipping rules and regulations are reciprocal, although this is not the case in pilotage. Apparently, the Draken Expedition assumed that the Canadian pilotage rules would also apply to US waters. Because the ship is participating in festivals were fees are charged to go aboard, the Coast Guard ruled that the Viking longship is a commercial rather than a recreational vessel. The regulations were established by the Great Lakes Pilotage Act of 1960 and would require an act of Congress to change.
To learn more about the pilotage regulations, Michigan Live has a interview with Lorne Thomas, a retired Coast Guard captain who now works as chief of external affairs for the U.S. Coast Guard 9th District in Cleveland.
Here’s the skinny on those pilot fees that almost stopped the Viking ship
Check the comments section here for a statement by Lakes Pilots, District 2, on the same point that Draken was given the info before they departed Norway: https://tugster.wordpress.com/2016/07/14/meanwhile-enter-the-draken/
Forewarned is one supposes is forearmed – well up to a point anyway. One would have thought that the Lakes Pilots District 2 Pilots would have made an “in house” arrangement deferring the fee to pilot this vessel. Yes! one has read all about the Rules and Regulations so beloved by USCG and our current WH Administration – however sometimes in life there is a bigger issue to look, at this would seem to be one of those occasions. Sorry Lakes Pilots very unclassy!
Good Watch.
She’s about 5 to 10 miles from Navy Pier according to Marine Traffic.
She is right behind two other exhibition ships.
I don’t use Facebook co I couldn’t correct the reporter when he said the ship was named Viking ship.
Will Viking vessel’s arrival in Chicago provide boost for suburban …
Chicago Daily Herald-21 hours ago
When the world’s largest replica Viking ship — the Draken Harald Hårfagre — arrives at Navy Pier Wednesday for the Pepsi Tall Ships Chicago …
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20160726/entlife/160729225/
Hi Rick,
Something I don’t get. Since her documentation is commercial (as per the documentation issued when originally built and documented in Norway in 2013), does it even matter whether admission is charged or not? Even if a (in this case Foreign) vessel documented as commercial behaves in a recreational manner, is it not still commercial in the eyes of the USCG?
Erik,
That is a good point. One of the comments in a pilot’s letter in response to the kurfuffle was to say that the problem might have been solved if the ship didn’t charge admission, which may not be the case. As the Draken is under 500 gross tonnes, she would be classed as a cargo ship by default, which does rule out a recreational designation.
The problem seems to be that the law as applied is too binary. Under the regs, a ship is either commercial or recreational. A replica training ship really doesn’t quite fall into either category. Clearly a replica viking long ship should not be faced with the same pilotage requirements as an oceangoing bulk carrier. The law could be changed to make pilotage optional for vessels under 500 gross tonnes participating in what the Coast Guard designates as “Marine Events of National Significance.”
Duluth is expecting 250,000 people all excited to see the Draken Harald Harfegre who was to be one of the stars of the event. Minnesota has a large Scandinavian population that are very disappointed and very heart broken not be able to see the Viking ship. The ship is following a Historic route followed by Leif Ericson. It’s sad to think that this unique ship can not complete it’s Historic voyage because of the U.S. Coast Guard pilot fees that went into effect in 2016. These fees should have been explained to each Tall Ship before they participated in the Tall Ship Event. These fees are going to hurt not only this event, but all commercial shipping in the Great Lakes. When you think about it, it’s only natural that the public coming to these events want to see what the ships are like and the fees charged would help the crew on the ships purchase food and supplies.