Columbia Pacific Maritime News

Pacific NW Sportsman’s Show

February 6-10 at the Portland Expo Center

Columbia Pacific Maritime will be closed February 6-10 so that I can attend the Pacific NW Sportsman’s Show. My booth is located in Hall E near the casting pool, number 1254. I will be there to answer questions regarding USCG licenses and license applications. Please stop by my booth and say hello.

Oregon Fishing Guide License To become an Oregon fishing guide you must register with the Oregon State Marine Board as a fishing guide, meet their minimum requirements, and pay the annual fee. Fishing guides are individuals who carry six or fewer passengers for hire primarily on inland waters, although some may guide on near coastal ocean waters. Not all Oregon fishing guides are required to hold a USCG Captain’s license, but those who do hold USCG licenses have more guiding options for their customers.

Security Bond: If you accept deposits in excess of $100 per person than you will be required to be bonded.

Standard First Aid: You must have current Standard First Aid training, including CPR, from the American Red Cross or equivalent training course. Contact METRO CPR for your Standard First Aid training needs.

Liability Insurance: You must have a minimum of $300,000 of liability insurance.

USCG License: You do not need a USCG license if you guide exclusively on non-navigable waterways or use a non-motorized vessel. However if your vessel is power-driven, this includes any form of motor including an electric kicker, then you are required to hold a USCG license valid for the waters you guide on. The most common license held by fishing guides is the Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessel (OUPV) license, sometimes called the 6-pack license because it allows the holder to carry six or fewer passengers for hire. There are several route options for the OUPV license, each requiring a different level of training. The route on a license describes the area of operation covered by the license. Valid routes include limited scope waters routes, inland waters routes, and near coastal waters routes.

• Limited scope waters routes are very restrictive routes issued by individual US Coast Guard Marine Safety Offices (MSO). The Portland, Oregon MSO authorizes two limited scope waters routes for their zone of responsibility. The Portland MSO zone of responsibility includes all the inland waters of Oregon, the waters of Idaho south of 46° 55’ N latitude, and the inland waters of Washington south of 46° 55’ N latitude and north along the Washington coast to 47° 32’ N latitude to include Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor.
• The Limited Scope Waters Portland MSO Region A route includes all inland waters in the Portland, Oregon MSO zone of responsibility except the Columbia River, the Willamette River downriver from the Oregon City Locks, and the Snake River downriver from Lower Granite Dam, Washington.
• The Limited Scope Waters Portland MSO Region B route includes all the inland waters in the Portland, Oregon MSO zone of responsibility.
• An inland waters route allows the license holder to operate on any inland waterways of the United States, including all limited scope waters routes.
• A near coastal waters route allows the license holder to operate on any inland waterways of the United States and on all near coastal ocean waters within 20 miles of a safe harbor. You may take passengers beyond 20 miles with an OUPV near coastal license if your vessel has additional safety and communications equipment onboard.

OUPV License Training Courses

Columbia Pacific Maritime offers several different USCG approved license training courses to meet the needs of Oregon fishing guides, including fishing guides who desire to guide on the remote waters of Alaska. All USCG approved courses are accepted by the USCG Regional Exam Center as meeting the examination requirements for the license. To qualify for one of the following licenses you must be able to document a minimum of 360-days of experience in the operation of small vessels. For specific license requirements view the Columbia Pacific Online web pages

• OUPV Limited Scope Waters Portland, Oregon MSO Region A license training course is a 2-day USCG approved course covering general knowledge of navigation, deck, and safety required by the USCG for an OUPV license. The total cost of this course is $300.
• OUPV Limited Scope Waters Portland, Oregon MSO Region B license training course is a 5-day USCG approved course covering general knowledge of navigation, deck, and safety required by the USCG for an OUPV license, plus and in-depth study of the Rules of the Road. The total cost of this course is $600.
• OUPV near coastal waters license training course is an 8-day USCG approved course covering general knowledge of navigation, deck, and safety required by the USCG for an OUPV license, plus and in-depth study of the Rules of the Road and Chart Navigation. This course satisfies the USCG examination requirements for both inland and near coastal license routes; the route you receive on your license will depend on your qualifying experience. To qualify for the near coastal route you must document a minimum of 90-days on near coastal ocean waters. The total cost of this course is $900.
• Rules of the Road is a 3-day stand-alone course that will satisfy the examination requirements to increase the scope of a Portland, Oregon Limited Scope Waters Region A license route to a Region B license route or of an inland license route to a near coastal license route.

Charter Boat Captains Wanted

Charter boats are small inspected passenger vessels that operate on the near coastal ocean waters of the United States carrying more than six passengers for hire. The operator of a charter boat must hold a license as Master 25 tons or higher with a near coastal route. The tonnage limitation on the license must exceed the tonnage of the vessel.

• Tiki Charters of Astoria, Oregon has an opening for a charter boat captain with a minimum of a Master 25 ton near coastal license for the summer 2008 fishing season. Contact Oly Olson at (503) 325-7818 for more information.
• Frank Unfred, owner of charter boat “Salty Dog” operating out of Ilwaco, Washington, is seeking an operator with a minimum of a Master 50 ton near coastal license for the summer 2008 fishing season. Contact Frank Unfred at (360) 642-3515 for more information.

Master 100 ton License Training Courses

To qualify for a license as Master on near coastal ocean waters you must be able to document 720-days of experience. The tonnage limitation on your license will depend on the size of vessels that your qualifying experience was on. If all your experience was on vessels less than 5 tons your license will be limited to 25 tons; if any of your experience was on vessels over 5 tons your license will be limited 50 tons; to qualify for a Master 100 ton license you must have considerable experience on vessels over 35 tons displacement. Columbia Pacific Maritime provides a 10-day USCG approved training course that satisfies the USCG examination requirements for Master 25, 50, or 100 tons with either near coastal or inland routes. The total cost of this course is $1,100.

USCG Application

A good place to begin when applying for an original license or a renewal of an existing license is the USCG application package. A complete application package can be downloaded free from the download page on the Columbia Pacific Maritime website. Once you download the application package look it over and give me a call if you have any questions.