- 5 -
voyages, each ferryboat was maintained by a crew and a first
mate.3 Each ferryboat carried up to 1,200 passengers, and as
captain petitioner was responsible for the safety of all
passengers. This responsibility required his full attention at
all times. Any trouble or incident on the ferryboat during a
voyage was his responsibility.
The voyages petitioner captained began and ended within the
same 24-hour period at the company’s home port in Seattle,
Washington. He generally worked 15 to 17 hours a day for 7
consecutive days with the following 7 consecutive days off. He
typically began work as early as 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. to prepare the
ferryboat and was released from duty between 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
and occasionally as late as midnight.
The time fluctuations were a result of changes in the
company’s schedule and a variety of other unpredictable factors,
including U.S. Customs and Border Protection security checks,
high sea levels, poor weather, maintenance problems, log tows,
fueling, interference by recreational boats, minimum wake
requests, and assisting with rescues or medical emergencies. For
example, if weather conditions were severe, petitioner would need
to take an alternative route which could extend travel time by
approximately 2-1/2 hours.
3 The first mate could operate the ferryboat only while in
the captain’s presence.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011