OAR 856-015-0025
Apprentice Selection & Training Program - Columbia & Willamette River Pilotage Ground

(1) Application for a Certificate as a Pilot Apprentice for the Columbia and Willamette River pilotage ground shall be made on a form provided by the Board.
(2) The Board of Maritime Pilots shall certify from among the eligible applicants the best qualified individual or individuals for apprenticeship. Selection shall be in accordance with selection criteria procedures, based upon numerical ranking, promulgated by the Board of Maritime Pilots.
(3) No more than two apprentices shall be in the apprenticeship program at any time. The Board shall accept new apprentices into training at intervals of two years or longer.
(4) Numerical ranking of apprentice applicants shall be based upon a 100-point system, with points for each of the following categories:
(a) Academic: Completion of a four-year course of study and receipt of a degree from an accredited maritime academy will be awarded 25 points.
(b) Previous Maritime Experience: Applicants shall be awarded 45 points based on federal licensure and a minimum of two years of actual experience as an officer in charge of a navigation watch while holding one or more of the following licenses:
(A) Master of Towing Vessels (Inland Waterways)
(B) Master of Towing Vessels (Ocean)
(C) Master, Vessels Greater than 1,600 Tons
(D) Master, Vessels 1,600 Tons or Less
(E) Chief or Second Mate on Vessels Greater than 1,600 Tons
(c) Applicants with a First Class Pilot Endorsement for any U.S. inland waterway will be awarded 5points.
(d) Interview Examination: Every applicant shall be interviewed by the Board of Maritime Pilots, but in every case at least one pilot from the Board-licensed training organization for the Columbia & Willamette River pilotage ground shall be included as an interviewer. Each person interviewed shall be assigned from 0 to 25 points based upon objective scoring guidelines published by the Board of Maritime Pilots.
(5) The apprentice candidate with the highest point total shall be awarded a Certificate of Apprenticeship by the Board and enter the apprentice training program. Said Certificate shall terminate upon satisfactory completion of the apprentice training program or upon the termination of the apprentice for cause or resignation.
(6) Training and qualification of pilot apprentices are subject to the following provisions:
(a) The term of apprenticeship for every apprentice shall be a minimum of three years.
(b) The apprentice training and qualification program shall include the satisfactory completion of an Apprentice Training Course approved by the Board of Maritime Pilots. The apprentice training and qualification program shall consist of both the approved Apprentice Training Course and the term of apprentice training.
(c) Satisfactory completion of the Apprentice Training Course, as approved by the Board of Maritime Pilots, requires that the apprentice must have satisfactorily completed the following training activities:
(A) 500 vessel movements between Astoria and Portland or Vancouver under the supervision of state licensed pilots; and
(B) 500 vessel movements under the supervision of state licensed pilots between any two points on the pilotage grounds selected by the Course Monitor based upon an evaluation of the apprentice’s skills and training needs. Assignments under this subsection may include, but are not necessarily limited to, transits between Astoria and Portland or Vancouver.
(C) Up to 30 days of industry-related training that the Course Monitor, in his or her discretion, may assign based upon the Course Monitor’s evaluation of the apprentice’s skills and training needs. Each day of training assigned under this subsection shall be substituted for a vessel movement otherwise required under subsection (B) above.
(d) In order to satisfactorily complete this training course, every apprentice must ride with a majority of the pilots, on every route, day and night, ebb and flood tides, and on every size category of vessel calling at the port. The curriculum of the approved course requires that apprentices learn to direct the movement of vessels, apply the proper rules of the nautical road and other maritime procedures, and interface and coordinate with other affected vessels and facilities.
(e) During each vessel movement to which the apprentice is assigned, the apprentice shall accompany the licensed pilot assigned to the vessel. The licensed pilot serves as the expert-master and interacts with the apprentice in observational and mastery learning process. The licensed pilot is obligated to interact with the apprentice to a degree sufficient to teach skills and impart information and to assess the apprentice’s progress during periods of “hands on” piloting by the apprentice under supervision by the pilot.
(f) The progress of every apprentice must be marked semi-annually during his or her term of apprentice training by the pilots with whom he or she has received instruction in the areas of: procedures, skillfulness, communications, and attitude.
(g) Every apprentice must receive satisfactory evaluations from the majority of the pilots and the Training Course Monitor during each semiannual progress report period. The Course Monitor shall semiannually advise each apprentice regarding his or her progress and shall also advise the Board of Maritime Pilots.
(h) Failure to make satisfactory progress during the Apprentice Training Course can result in the termination of the apprentice-training program for any apprentice at any point in the program by the Board of Maritime Pilots.
(i) The discovery that any apprentice fails to satisfy the physical requirements for federal licensure shall be just cause for the termination of any such apprentice, without regard to progress in the Apprentice Training Course.
(j) Upon satisfactory completion of the approved Apprentice Training Course, the apprentice will be awarded a Certificate of Completion by the designated Course Monitor.
(7) Satisfactory completion of the Apprentice Training Program requires that the apprentice obtain a federal First Class Pilot license for the grounds from Astoria to Portland and Vancouver. However, any federal licensure as a federal First Class Pilot obtained by any apprentice before the completion of the apprenticeship training and qualification program shall not terminate nor shorten the three-year minimum term of apprentice training.
(8) No person shall represent himself or herself as an apprentice unless he or she has been approved and certified as an apprentice by the Board of Maritime Pilots. No pilot shall be required to train any uncertified person on board any vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the Board of Maritime Pilots. Any uncertified person posing as an apprentice aboard any vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the Board of Maritime Pilots shall be considered in violation of ORS 776.405 (License required).
(9) Upon the successful completion of the minimum three year apprenticeship training and qualification program, including certification by the Course Monitor of satisfactory completion of the Apprentice Training Course, the pilots shall provide the Board of Maritime Pilots with the name and complete training record of every successful apprentice along with their recommendations regarding his or her prospective licensure by the Board.
(10) Nothing shall prohibit the Board of Maritime Pilots from periodically reviewing the progress of any apprentice undergoing training, and reviewing the progress reports on every apprentice that have been submitted by the pilots.
(11) Every person who successfully completes the Apprenticeship Training Course shall begin the regular pilot training program for Class C, Class B, Class A and Unlimited licenses, upon the opening of a position by either the anticipated retirement or resignation of a licensed pilot, or the Board-approved increase in the number of pilots.
(12) If no person has successfully completed the Apprenticeship Training Course at the time a need for a pilot trainee arises, then the Board shall appoint a person who meets the requirements of OAR 856-015-0005 (Trainee & Apprentice - General Application Requirements), and who has been selected by the Board from qualified applicants pursuant to OAR 856-015-0023 (Applicant Examination & Ranking – Columbia & Willamette River Pilotage Ground).

Source: Rule 856-015-0025 — Apprentice Selection & Training Program - Columbia & Willamette River Pilotage Ground, https://secure.­sos.­state.­or.­us/oard/view.­action?ruleNumber=856-015-0025.

Last Updated

Jun. 8, 2021

Rule 856-015-0025’s source at or​.us