[QUOTE=rshrew;127512]I hear that inside passage time will now count towards near coastal when the new stcw revision takes effect , as well as the uscg will let some mariners use a % of sea time with barge tonnage included to upgrade your tonnage. However you will still need some time on higher tonnage vessels.[/QUOTE]
Yes, Inside Passage time in BC and SE Alaska certainly should be considered near coastal, it certainly isn’t anything like most “inland waters,” and there is a lot more to it than most places that are considered near coastal. As the old timer said: “The sea is only hard around the edges.”
Not being able to get any credit for combined tug and barge tonnage is a very sore subject for me. I know mariners can use the combined tug and barge tonnage of ATBs on a 2 for 1 basis, but I have not heard anything about being able to use time spent towing a barge. I sure hope you are right about that. I’ll have to print out those new rules in the Federal Register so I can really digest them.