How do you report a facility that charges for access to your vessel ie crew changes,shopping,and shore leave? There are several facilities in TX and LA that are charging exorbitant fees from third party providers to “escort” you through their terminal.
I heard that Bayway refinery in NJ was having trouble with allowing crews off the ship due to not enough security as well
Unfortunately this seems to be an Exxon thing and there is a clear rule in the CFR’s stating they have to grant you free access.
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=201604&RIN=1625-AC15
Have you called the Coast Guard in the affected port? That’s ridiculous. And I have heard of this happening as well.
NJ port authority has there hand in the pot. Need to use one of their drivers for access. One professional driver lost his twic card. We tore his van apart to find it. What should you expect for 500$ though. New Haven CT is also expensive.
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I had a first engineer years ago who took it upon himself to write his member of Congress about this kind of shenanigans. It actually got results. At least for a little while.
You might try the International Transportation Workers Federation
Also the Seaman’s Church Institute
I believe they only have to allow you “access,” not “free access.” Their policy on shore leave for mariners is in their facility security plan, which is approved by the USCG, so somebody knows, they just don’t care.
Also, a lot of them interpret “at no cost to the seafarer” to mean the company will pay for it.
Says they have to get you from aboard to the facility gate in a timely fashion at no cost to you –
“…requires the owner/operator of a facility regulated by the Coast Guard under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-295) (MTSA) to provide a system that enables seafarers and certain other individuals to transit between vessels moored at the facility and the facility gate in a timely manner at no cost to the seafarer or other individual.”
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Yes, and whenever I bring it up to dock personnel, they just say “make the company pay for it.” They don’t realize the ship isn’t paying for a $300 trip to the gate 4 times a day.
Very few tanker facilities in the GoM allow free access to the gate. Most allow the Seaman’s Church in, but that’s only when they are available.
Sounds like the sort of thing to be writing your Congressman about.
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Exactly. I take it at just that. So who do you contact in regards to charges that my company refuses to pay? My shipmates and I pay as much as 250$ to report for work on top of travel expenses.
Here is the exact wording of the ruling and it specifically say at no cost to seafarers.
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=201604&RIN=1625-AC15
You can try calling the local Captain of the Port. I’ve seen it successfully done at Exxon Baton Rogue, but it wasn’t a permanent fix.
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“At no cost to the seafarer or other individual”
Interesting. That wording would invalidate charging the companies as well there.
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Exxon Beaumont seems to be a problem as well as Exxon Baton Rouge.
That would to me encompass venders as well as auditors.
I think that refers to the “certain other individuals” who also get free passage through the facility.
I’ve seen this before too. Round about time to renew the facility security plan with the USCG, all of a sudden transportation is provided. A few months later it vanishes but the coast guard can’t be bothered to follow up on whether all elements of the security plan are being implemented. They return 4 years later and the transportation is working again. Bullshit
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