Senator REED. Yes. You see, out in Kansas we do not bother much with maritime stuff. Captain FARWELL. Yes. Well, I can realize that the seagoing State of Kansas might only be academically interested in our problem. But we have the international situation, in that the "high seas" touch our coasts in many places, at which the high-seas rules apply. We have the so-called inland waters of the United States, which are generally the inland waters, the coastal waters, and the rivers, with two exceptions. Now, the two jurisdictions, each having its own set of statutory and regulatory rules, are the Great Lakes with connecting rivers, and the western half of the St. Lawrence, and the so-called western rivers territory, which we are concerned with today. And we are modifying that in this bill so it will, in a sense, quarantine the waters affected, you see, by putting the Mississippi itself, from New Orleans down, under the coastal-inland rules, and then cutting off the other western rivers, which are relatively unimportant, all except the Warrior River system, proceeding inland from Mobile about 400 miles, and the Mississippi River system above the Huey Long Bridge. Those two are all that will be left under western rivers rules. You can see that with the exceptions I have given you, such as the ocean tankers which go up to Baton Rouge, another hundred miles, there is no traffic there but river traffic, practically. I would like to say, in conclusion, that I regard this bill as a distinct advance in preserving the safety of life and property on these navigable waters. Senator REED. That concludes your statement, Captain? Captain FARWELL. Yes, sir, unless you have questions. Senator REED. Mr. Thompson, will you arrange the order in which these gentlemen appear? Mr. THOMPSON. Yes. Capt. Aubrey D. Haynes, marine superintendent, Mississippi Valley Barge Line Co., will present a statement, Senator. Senator REED. Very well. STATEMENT OF CAPT. AUBREY D. HAYNES, MARINE SUPERINTENDENT, MISSISSIPPI VALLEY BARGE LINE CO., ST. LOUIS, MO. Captain HAYNES. Senator, my name is Haynes, and I am marine superintendent of the Mississippi Valley Barge Line Co. of St. Louis, Mo. It is one of the large operating companies; in fact, about the largest on western rivers, the largest privately owned carriers. Senator REED. Have you a prepared statement? Captain HAYNES. Yes, sir. Senator REED. You may file this, and it will be included in the record. Now, can you go ahead with a summary of what your views are with relation to this bill? Captain HAYNES. Yes, sir. I would like to start back a few years. About 4 years ago, 3 of the big operating companies on western rivers who employ more than 100 pilots, brought their men in for general conferences; kept them in a week, to talk about the various phases of operation, such as safety, pilot rules, rules and regulations. And during these conferences, the 1 pilots brought to our attention the fact that our present rules were antiquated, and we could not operate on them safely with our present form of navigation. I would like to bring out one point there. When these rules were written, we had packet boats, as Mr. Thompson has said, and now we have these big long pusher-tows. They are increasing every day. And we are about the only people in the world that push ahead of the boat masses of barges, averaging from 4 to probably 20, and sometimes going up to 35 barges. That is why we think that our problem is a little different as to pilot rules from what it is on the coast and on the Great Lakes, and so forth. Because our operation is different. After these conferences we had with these pilots, they recommended that these changes be made. And, of course, a number of us talked to the other pilots in all sections of the river. We operate over nearly the entire inland water systems, with a great many boats and barges. If you would like to go into any of the details, I should be happy to go on. Senator REED. Did you hear Captain Farwell's statement? Senator REED. Are you in agreement with his statement? Senator REED. Have you examined the bill? Captain HAYNES. Yes, sir; very carefully, sir. Senator REED. Is it satisfactory as it is printed now? Captain HAYNES. Yes, sir; except that I feel that the opposition has some merit in a couple of suggestions they made as to changes, small ones. Senator REED. Were those the two that Captain Farwell referred to? Senator REED. You would have no objection to those changes? Senator REED. Is there anything further you want to add to your statement, which we will print in the record? Captain HAYNES. Yes; I would like to emphasize the fact that the whistle change, which is the one objection on which we do not go along with the Pittsburgh group, who, in my opinion, are minority Senator REED. Where is that found in the bill? a small Mr. GRIFFITH (W. H. Griffith, secretary, Masters, Mates, and Pilots of America, Local 25, Pittsburgh, Pa.) Pages 20 and 21, sir, I believe. Senator REED. Do you want to comment on pages 20 and 21, Captain Haynes? Captain HAYNES. Yes, sir. I would like to say that in changing these whistles we cut down a lot of confusion. I have a list here of the many whistles a pilot has to remember. And pilots are not the only ones involved in collisions. We have many thousands of yachts, small towboats, gas boats. We even have Diesel boats of fairly large size, that aren't required to have licensed pilots on them. And they are not required to know these rules. So we would like to simplify them as much as possible. In other words, right now, under the present rules we have one short blast, and distinct blast of the whistle, four or more short blasts of the whistle, one long sound of the whistle, one blast of the whistle, one prolonged blast of the whistle of from 4 to 6 seconds, three blasts of the whistle in quick succession, and a continuous sounding of the steam whistle. Now, what we have in mind is cutting that down to just four things a man would have to remember, one to the right, two to the left, and three as a recognition, or attention signal, meaning "Here I am," when you are going down to a point, or backing out to a landing, or when you want to hold your course in a right-angle situation. And, of course, the fourth one is the same. That is a distress whistle. The first two are the same; the right and life; except that the fog whistle is confused with a passing signal. I think the little people on the river that don't have licenses, that don't go into the technical end of this thing, would be much better off, would have fewer accidents, and would promote safety all along, if we adopted this signal system that we are proposing. Senator REED. Does that conclude your statement, Captain Haynes? Captain HAYNES. Yes, sir. Senator REED. Thank you. (The prepared statement of Captain Haynes is as follows:) STATEMENT OF AUBREY D. HAYNES BEFORE COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE ON H. R. 3350 My name is Aubrey D. Haynes. For over 25 years I have been a licensed master and first-class pilot on the western rivers. My pilot's license covers approximately 2,047 miles of river including the Ohio River from Cairo, Ill., to Cincinnati, Ohio (535 miles); the Mississippi River from St. Louis to New Orleans (1,100 miles); the White River (285 miles); the Arkansas River (80 miles); the Red River (35 miles); and the Gulf Intracoastal Canal (12 miles). Since 1941 I have been employed as marine superintendent of the Mississippi Valley Barge Line Co., one of the three largest towboat companies, which with its affiliates operates as a common carrier over the entire western river system and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. As marine superintendent I am in charge of from 12 to 20 tugs and approximately 250 barges, and supervise from 26 to 48 pilots. In 1944 the American Barge Line Co., the Central Barge Co., and the Mississippi Valley Barge Line Co. held a series of conferences which were attended by the entire staff of masters and pilots (about 100) of the respective concerns. The general misunderstanding of and the dissatisfaction with the pilots rules on the part of the men who daily are required to navigate vessels in accordance with the requirements of the rules was clearly evident. Methods of improving the rules were discussed-to simplify and modernize them and to eliminate requirements which are unsafe under present-day operating conditions. A committee, of which I was designated a cochairman. was appointed by the American Waterways Operators to make a thorough study of the subject, and for the past 2 years we have done exactly that. Proposed amendments were drafted and discussed at meetings of the western rivers advisory panel of the Merchant Marine Council of the Coast Guard, with marine superintendents and pilots, and with other persons having an interest in the matter. In addition several public hearings were held. In connection with this project, I have made it a point to discuss the revisions at every opportunity and have personally obtained the views of more than 200 pilots. I should note here that the proposals, embodied in H. R. 3350, have received enthusiastic support from all interests affected. It is necessary to understand the character of western river navigation, the nature of the rivers, and the vessels operated thereon, if a reasonable set of pilot rules are to be devised. The Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the other tributaries are bodies of water with shallow depths. In some places there are depths of less than 9 feet; and the average loading depth for barges is 81⁄2 feet. The rivers are characterized by swift current and eddies, narrow, meandering, and shifting channels, hidden sandbars, narrow bridges, locks, and dams. The width of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers varies from one-half to 11⁄2 miles; in many places the channels are only 200 to 400 feet wide. During the decade of the 1920's, river navigation changed. Packet boats, relatively maneuverable craft, whose freight-carrying capacity was limited, were replaced by tows whose size has steadily increased. On the western rivers, wé have found it most practicable to tow barges in masses ahead of the tug, rather than on a hawser behind as in many other places where towing is done. The average tow ranges from 1,000 to 1,200 feet in over-all length; the average width is from 120 to 150 feet. Very few vessels are equipped with anchors; a compass is not used. The barges are flat-bottomed. These slide sidewise when steered, are affected by swift cross-currents and by wind. Wind is particularly important in the case of empty equipment and shallow-draft vessels. This type of towing (where 20 or more barges are pushed ahead of a single tug) is much different than other kinds. The tows are awkward and hard to maneuver; and pilots must be specially and carefully trained for the job. The volume of freight which can be hauled in a single tow is tremendous; and I can say, almost without fear of contradiction, that a western river tow is perhaps the clumsiest method of vessel operation used anywhere in the world. The following facts should be borne in mind: (1) That the pilot who receives whistle signals and who must determine the course and direction of approaching vessels (largely by the lights they carry) performs his duties in the pilothouse of the tug, about 1,000 feet or more aft of the lead barge of his tow. Therefore, when the head barges of two tows approaching from opposite directions are one-half mile apart, the distance separating the two pilots of the respective tows is closer to a mile; (2) the distance of one-half mile is only several lengths of a single tow; (3) a tow down-bound on a river with a strong current may require from a mile to a mile and a half in which to kill her headway. In some stretches of the river such a tow cannot be stopped at all; (4) in portions of the river the channels are so narrow that there is scarcely enough room for two tows to pass; (5) because of the meandering nature of the channels the bearing of approaching vessels will constantly change; (6) vessels nearing a bend will recognize the presence of a tow on the other side of the bend from her lights long before they can make out the shape of the tow or her position in the river. Later in this statement I will take up the practical considerations which underlie the important changes proposed in H. R. 3350. I mention the factors noted above at this time because I believe they are very important to an understanding of the pressing need for adequate lights, to have simple and clearly audible whistle signals, whose meaning cannot be mistaken, and of assigning the burden of keeping out of the way to the vessel which is the more maneuverable. I have already stated that the change from packetboat to towboat operation took place during the 1920's. However, the pilot rules for western rivers, as they now exist, were adopted in 1864 and have been changed very little since the turn of the twentieth century. These two facts would suggest that the present rules might be out of date even if they had originally been written especially for the western rivers. The fact is that they were originally designed to govern all navigable waters of the United States, but have since been discarded in favor of a special set of rules by virtually every other area, includng the high seas, the Great Lakes, and the coastal waters. Only on the western rivers have they continued in substantially the same form. It may well be that rules which will work well where a single vessel is operating in waters where there is ample room, to maneuver will not do for awkward vessels in narrow channels. Let me cite just one example-the right angle rule (rule 19). Where two vessels are crossing, the vessel which has the other on her own starboard side is required to keep out of the way of the other. The privileged vessel holds her course (rule 23). Towboat traffic, which constitutes over 90 percent of the entire traffic on the rivers, is an upstream and downstream movement. The only vessels which cross the rivers from bank to bank are ferry and small boats. These are maneuverable vessels which can operate in relatively shallow waters. When a ferry boat, involved in a crossing situation with a large towboat bound downstream, has the tow on her port side, under the present rule the ferry is entitled to hold her course; the tow must keep out of the way, and under section 332.9 of the regulations the tow must direct her course to starboard so as to cross the stern of the ferry, or, if necessary, to slacken her speed or stop or reverse. It should be noted that the requirements of the rule are impossible to observe in this situation. Directing her course to starboard might result in a grounding. As previously noted, a heavy tow down-bound on a river with a strong current may be unable to stop in time. The rule assumes a maneuverability on the part of the tow which she does not in fact possess. The ferry, on the other hand, could much more readily bear the obligations of the burdened vessel. Accordingly, to accord with the realities of the situation, H. R. 3350 proposes (rule 19)— "(a) * * * That a steam vessel descending a river with the current, and towing another vessel or vessels, shall be deemed to have the right-of-way over any steam vessel crossing the river, * * *." Another important change contained in H. R. 3350, which I believe will eliminate needless confusion and reduce accidents is that relating to the duration of whistle signals. The present statutory rules say nothing about whistle signals except in connection with those required in a fog. However, the regulations do specify signals of varying duration. Thus, section 332.1 and section 332.8 of the regulations speak of "short" blasts. Section 332.12 of the regulations speaks of a "prolonged" blast. Section 332.6 and section 332.7 of the regulations speak in terms of a "long" blast. A short blast has been defined as one which is of 1 to 2 seconds' duration; a prolonged blast is stated in the regulations (sec. 332.12) to be "of from 4 to 6 seconds' duration"; and a long blast lasts from 8 to 10 seconds. It should be noted that each of the above whistle signals has a radically different meaning. Thus a short blast (1 to 2 seconds) is sounded by a vessel to indicate that she is directing her course to starboard or to port (depending upon the number of blasts); a prolonged blast (4 to 6 seconds) is simply a fog signal, and a long blast (8 to 10 seconds) is used by a vessel approaching a bend or leaving a dock. The short blast accordingly is a direction signal; whereas both the prolonged and long blast are merely attention signals, given to direct the attention of any other vessel in the vicinity to the fact that there is another vessel nearby, although it cannot perhaps be seen because of poor visibility conditions, arising from fog, or because a bend obstructs the view. However, it is easy to see how misunderstanding can result when an approaching vessel hearing a bend signal interprets it to mean that the vessel is directing her course to starboard. I have piloted and traveled on towboats for many years, and it is no exaggeration to state that a violation of the pilot rules occurs almost every time a pilot blows a signal indicating that he is altering his course to starboard or to port. Pilots on western river boats do not sound short blasts for passing signals, because, of course, they do not believe such signals, lasting 1 or 2 seconds, could be heard by an approaching vessel at a distance of one-half mile, whose pilot may be actually a mile away. The result is that the passing signal normally given lasts from approximately 10 to 15 seconds. Under the present rules this would be a long blast and could be taken to mean that the vessel was approaching a bend or leaving a dock. When a vessel is nearing a bend and sounds a 10second signal, the pilot on a vessel on the other side of the bend may readily interpret it, in view of the blast, as a passing signal rather than as an attention signal. And there have been collisions which were caused by just such misunderstanding. As I have stated, the present practice of western river pilots in sounding a 10-second blast as a passing signal is based upon sound reasoning. Moreover, in view of the fact that sound signals are now further indicated by visual signals, there is additional reason to continue this practice. A visual signal in which the light was on for only 1 or 2 seconds might not be seen. Therefore, it is proposed in H. R. 3350 to eliminate this cause of confusion and accidents by making the number of whistle signals all important and the duration of the blasts immaterial. Thus rule No. 18, dealing with vessels approaching from opposite directions, states that the blast shall be a "distinct blast" which is defined in rule No. 1 to mean "a clearly audible blast of any length." The same is true with rule No. 19 dealing with crossing situations and with rule No. 22 dealing with overtaking situations. In each case the signal given consists of one or two distinct blasts as passing signals. The number of blasts given—one or two-indicates the direction which the vessel will take-port or starboard. In those instances where the purpose of the whistle signal is to call attention to the presence of the vessel-as a vessel operating in a fog, nearing a bend, or leaving a dock (prolonged and long blasts are now called for), the proposed revision would require instead the sounding of three distinct blasts (rule Nos. 24 b and c, and rule No. 15). This change, in my opinion, is very important and will be a definite safety factor. I will not discuss in detail the various other changes made in H. R. 3350. Among the changes which I regard as important are those increasing the distance of visibility of side lights from 2 to 3 miles (rule No. 3); that which re |