Section 214 - Pilot Trainee Training Program(a) In order to be considered for licensing as a pilot, a pilot trainee must successfully complete the training program conducted and supervised by the Pilot Evaluation Committee for the Board. The Board shall issue a certificate of completion to a pilot trainee only when it determines that the trainee has successfully completed the pilot trainee training program. The Board may rely upon, but shall not be bound by the recommendations of its Pilot Evaluation Committee in determining whether a trainee has successfully completed the training program or whether or when the trainee should be licensed as a pilot. The Board is not required to license an individual as a pilot at any time after issuance of the certificate of completion authorized by this subsection. If a license is issued, it shall be issued to the most qualified trainee who has successfully completed the training program. Order of completion of the program is not the determining factor.(b) The training program prescribed herein shall include the following topics: (2) port and waterway configuration;(3) hydrography (channel depths and widths, bottom configuration);(4) hydrology and hydraulics;(7) aids to navigation (interaction with and information they convey);(10) other traffic and operations (including commercial fishing vessels, recreational boating, dredging and marine regattas);(11) air draft (for bridges and overhead wires);(13) applicable laws, rules and regulations;(14) marine traffic regulation (including Vessel Traffic Service);(15) local and seasonal traffic patterns and densities;(16) ship maneuvering behavior for all vessel types to be piloted including hydrodynamic interactions with respect to other vessels, facilities and channel bathymetry;(17) advantages, limitations and effect on shiphandling of various types of main propulsion and auxiliary maneuvering machinery;(18) shiphandling for piloting, anchoring, docking and undocking, maneuvering with and without the aid of tugs and emergency situations;(19) tug control (for maneuvering assistance);(20) use of ground tackle to aid maneuvering;(21) navigation systems (traditional and electronic);(22) radar systems (manual and automated); and(23) marine and environmental safety requirements;(24) The causes and hazards of fatigue, the means of avoiding or alleviating fatigue, the responsibility of pilots and trainees to ensure that they are rested prior to an assignment, the need for a sufficient recovery period after awakening, and the duty of pilots and trainees to refuse an assignment if they are too fatigued to complete an assignment safely.(c) The training program for each pilot trainee shall consist of a minimum of one year and a maximum of three years of training. The program may include classroom training and training provided by outside contractors and shall include assignments to ride as an observer on tugs engaged in ship assist work. In addition, the program shall include a minimum of 300 trips while under the direct supervision of a pilot or inland pilot, riding as observer or maneuvering vessels of various sizes and classes on the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun. A minimum of 50 trips shall be with members of the Pilot Evaluation Committee and at least 10 of those trips shall be within the last three months before the committee recommendation that the trainee be issued a certificate of completion. Pilot trainee assignments shall be under the general supervision of the Pilot Evaluation Committee and may be made by the Port Agent, his or her designee, or a member of the Pilot Evaluation Committee.(d) A stipend, funded by a pilot trainee surcharge to pilotage rates, may be paid to pilot trainees. The amount of the stipend, if any, paid to a pilot trainee shall be determined solely by the Board, provided that trainees at similar phases of the program shall receive an equal stipend, if any stipend is given.(e) A pilot or inland pilot supervising a pilot trainee shall prepare an evaluation report on the performance of the pilot trainee to the Pilot Evaluation Committee at the times and in the manner prescribed by the Committee.(f) The Board may dismiss a pilot trainee from the training program at any time during the first year of training without cause. After the first year of training, a pilot trainee may be dismissed from the training program if the Board, after a hearing comparable to that provided to a public employee under Government Code § 11126(a), determines that he or she: (1) no longer meets the requirements of Section 213;(2) has violated the Code or these regulations;(3) has failed to carry out the terms and conditions of the training program;(4) has willfully disobeyed a lawful order of the Board, the Pilot Evaluation Committee, the Port Agent, his or designee or the pilot supervising his or her training;(5) committed an act of misconduct while on duty as a trainee;(6) was intoxicated or under the influence of a substance which appreciably impaired his or her ability to conduct the duties of a pilot trainee while on duty as a trainee;(7) failed to meet the conditions of probation within the period prescribed, if placed on probation under subsection (g) of this section; or(8) failed a chemical test for dangerous drugs, as defined in Section 202.(g) A pilot trainee may, on such conditions and for such period of time as the Board may impose, be suspended from the training program or be placed on probation if the Board determines that such action is warranted because of:(1) a change in the mental or physical health or good moral character of the pilot trainee;(2) a lapse, suspension or revocation of the trainee's U. S. Coast Guard license;(3) misconduct while on duty as a trainee; or(4) inadequate performance in the training program.(h) In determining whether a pilot trainee has successfully completed the training program or whether the trainee should be licensed as a pilot, the Board and Pilot Evaluation Committee shall consider whether the trainee has met each of the following: (1) All statutory prerequisites for being licensed as a pilot;(2) Maintained an average score of at least 4.0 on a 5.0 scale on the evaluations by members of the Pilot Evaluation Committee during each of the last three (3) months immediately preceding the Committee's recommendations; and(3) Has adequately demonstrated: (A) local knowledge for the Bays of San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun, including:1. limits of all local pilotage areas;2. names, positions and characteristics of all buoys, beacons, lights, markers, fog signals and other fixed aids to navigation;3. names, locations and characteristics of all channels, shoals, headlands and points;4. names, locations, characteristics and vertical clearances of all bridges, cables and other overhead obstructions to navigation;6. set, rate, rise and duration of tides, characteristics of tidal currents, and use of tide tables and real time tide data collection system;7. courses and distances for each channel;8. names, locations and characteristics of anchorages;9. names, locations and waterside characteristics of all berths, terminals and docking facilities; and10. systems of radio navigational warning broadcasts and the type of information likely to be included.(B) a working knowledge of the fundamentals of shiphandling, including: 1. shiphandling in piloting waters;3. docking and undocking;4. appropriate use of tugs;5. shiphandling in emergency situations; and6. appropriate vessel speed control.(C) bridge presence, including proper and timely handling of all shipboard communications using standard terminology;(D) proper and timely handling of communications with other vessels, Vessel Traffic Service and other entities external to the vessel;(E) situational awareness, contingency planning and the ability to keep the vessel on track;(F) appropriate and timely use of bridge equipment, including shipboard navigation and collision-avoidance aids, and knowledge of their capabilities and limitations;(G) appropriate response to vessel traffic;(H) familiarity with maneuvering characteristics of all types of ships that routinely enter the pilotage grounds, including knowledge of capabilities and limitations of typical propulsion and steering systems on board such vessels;(I) understanding environmental factors affecting ship performance, such as wind, current, tide, channel configuration, water depth, bottom, bank and ship interaction including squat;(J) familiarity with bridge team management, including master-pilot relationship;(K) familiarity with all relevant international, national, state and local laws and regulations applicable to navigational safety, rules of the road, pollution prevention, and contingency planning;(L) familiarity with lines of communication to local authorities, including the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, State Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response and the Board.(M) familiarity with personal techniques for survival at sea and personal safety, including emergency first aid, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and hypothermia remediation; and(N) consistency of acceptable performance.Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 7, § 214
Note: Authority cited: Section 1154, Harbors and Navigation Code. Reference: Sections 1101(e), 1114.5, 1171.5, 1175, 1177, 1178 and 1196.5, Harbors and Navigation Code.
Note: Authority cited: Section 1154, Harbors and Navigation Code. Reference: Sections 1101(e), 1114.5, 1171.5, 1175, 1177 and 1178, Harbors and Navigation Code.
1. Repealer and new section filed 5-9-88; operative 6-8-88 (Register 88, No. 20). For prior Article 5. Licensing history, see Registers 82, No. 2; 78, No. 49 and 76, No. 32.
2. Renumbering of former section 214 to section 217 and renumbering and amendment of former section 212 to section 214 filed 8-12-93; operative 9-13-93 (Register 93, No. 33).
3. Amendment filed 1-14-97; operative 2-13-97 (Register 97, No. 3).
4. New subsection (f)(8) and amendment of Note filed 4-20-98; operative 5-20-98 (Register 98, No. 17).
5. Amendment and reorganization of subsections (h)-(h)(10) to subsections (h)-(h)(3)xiv. filed 4-20-99; operative 5-20-99 (Register 99, No. 17).
6. Amendment of section and Note filed 6-3-2003; operative 7-3-2003 (Register 2003, No. 23).
7. Governor Newsom issued Executive Order N-52-20 (2019 CA EO 52-20), dated April 16, 2020, which extended the period of the training program for pilot trainees unable to train on vessels, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
8. New subsection (b)(24) and amendment of NOTE filed 2-20-2024; operative 4/1/2024 (Register 2024, No. 8).