For Immediate Release

Date: March 11, 2004

Marine Enforcement Focuses On Navigation Hazard

A coalition of state, county and federal marine officials have cited serious potential for collisions between recreational boaters and commercial shippers on the Columbia River. The task force has agreed to step up enforcement of state and federal rules this spring, ticketing boaters who are caught blocking navigation on the Columbia River.

A person guilty of blocking the channel could face thousands of dollars in fines.

"Despite our best education efforts in recent years, we still find that too many anglers choose to remain anchored in the channel when a commercial ship is approaching, forcing the ship operator to take unnecessary risks," said Randy Henry, of the Oregon State Marine Board.

March and April are popular sturgeon fishing months, with anglers arriving early to anchor up in their favorite sturgeon hole. Ships navigating the lower Columbia River must stay in the narrow-but-deep river channel to avoid running aground. "When a hardcore angler refuses to move, the ship operator must make a very difficult choice - try to go around and risk putting the ship aground, or hope the angler moves at the last second. Either option is a potential catastrophe," says Henry.

To prevent such incidents, the U.S. Coast Guard, Oregon State Police, and Oregon and Washington county sheriff marine patrols are cooperatively focusing enforcement efforts on the Columbia River below Bonneville. "If the Coast Guard cites you for a Rule 9 violation, you can face a fine of five thousand dollars," says Henry. Rule 9 of the International Steering and Sailing Rules states that a vessel of less than 20 meters must not impede passage of a vessel that can safely navigate only within a narrow channel. State laws support the rule but provide for a citation of only $237.

Even if the river appears to be wide, anglers should still move when the ship is near. "When those large container vessels approach a bend in the river, they essentially skid through the entire turn, requiring a much wider path than the vessels width, and it all has to occur in the channel," says Henry.

"The other problem is that these ships move deceptively fast," says Henry. "They can travel a mile in seven minutes or less. If you wait until the ship is a thousand feet away, you might have less than a minute to move. You're betting your life on whether your motor starts on the first try."

It's not illegal to anchor in the channel, and Henry hopes boaters understand that. "But what they also need to understand is that, after three years of outreach efforts, hundreds of warnings and relatively few citations, law enforcement is going to start ticketing all violators in an effort to get the message out. If you're anchored in the channel and a ship is approaching, you must move and you must take your anchor and float with you."

Boaters with questions on safe anchoring techniques are encouraged to visit the Marine Board's website at www.boatoregon.com/anchor.

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