Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 4844 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2017 • FOGHORN NEWSWIRE Coast Guard Assesses $9,500 Penalty Against Man Who Used a Laser on Washington State Ferries Captain The federal law that makes it an offense to interfere with the safe operation of a passenger vessel, leg- islation that was enacted as result of advocacy efforts in Congress by PVA, enabled the U.S. Coast Guard to take strong action against an individual who used a laser on a ferry captain and chief mate while the vessel was underway. A Coast Guard Hearing Officer assessed a $9,500 civil penalty on December 27, 2016, to a Washington State resident for interfering with the safe operation of the Washington State Ferries (WSF) Tokitae by shining a high- powered blue laser at the vessel on October 22, 2015. Mark Raden of Freeland, WA, was aboard the WSF Kitsap when he pointed the laser at the Tokitae, striking the vessel’s master and chief mate in the eyes and endangering the 106 passen- gers on board. Raden, who the Coast Guard says has a history of lasering incidents, also pled guilty to reckless endangerment in a state court for his conduct and was ordered to serve 15 days in jail, perform 240 hours of community service, and pay more than $3,700 in restitution to the master and chief mate. He will also serve 24 months of probation. “Interfering with the safe operation of a vessel, particularly a large passenger vessel, endangers all of those on board and can also result in signifi- cant environmental impacts, said Cmdr. Darwin Jensen, Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound Chief of Prevention. “This one person’s irresponsible actions could have had a much more tragic outcome for the passengers of the Tokitae as the vessel was preparing to arrive in Clinton [Washington]. The Coast Guard will pursue appropriate criminal or civil enforcement actions against anyone who interferes with the safe operation of vessels.” In recent years, PVA has urged officials at Coast Guard Headquarters and elsewhere to make aggressive use of this item in its enforcement “toolbox” against rail jumpers and other activities such as this laser strike. PVA members are encouraged to inform the Coast Guard whenever the safe operation of their vessels is imperiled by the reckless actions of its passengers or others. n New Polar Code Should Not Affect PVA Members in Alaska U.S.-flagged vessels (including PVA vessels) operating on domestic voyages to ports or places in the U.S. Arctic will not need to meet the provisions of a new international shipping agreement called the Polar Code. Instead, they must continue to comply with appli- cable domestic requirements. The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed this policy when it issued CG-CVC Policy Letter 16-06 on December 12, 2016. The International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters went