APRIL 15, 2015
PORTLAND, OREGON
Coast Guard Sector Columbia River personnel suspended the
merchant mariner’s license of Richard Chesbrough of Salem March 4, for
violating Coast Guard regulations governing small commercial passenger vessel
operations and for negligence after the commandant of the Coast Guard affirmed
the orders of an administrative law judge.
Chesbrough received a four-month suspension and an 18-month
probationary period as a result of charges from two separate complaints for
misconduct and negligence.
In April 2011, Chesbrough knowingly operated the passenger
vessel Willamette Queen in river conditions exceeding those authorized in the
vessel’s certificate of inspection to carry passengers. In the second
complaint, he negligently grounded the Willamette Queen in the Willamette River
in May 2012, which led to the evacuation of the passengers.
The complaints were brought to hearing before an
administrative law judge in Portland in September 2011 and February 2013. In
both hearings the administrative law judge ordered the license suspended.
Chesbrough appealed both decisions to the commandant of the Coast Guard;
however a Commandant’s Decisions on Appeal Jan. 23 affirmed both orders issued
by the administrative law judge.
“Licensing professional merchant mariners is a critical
component of the regulatory framework that promotes the safety of the public on
our nation’s waterways,” said Lt. Benjamin Robinson, chief of investigations
division at Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Portland.
Coast Guard regulations require small commercial passenger
vessels for hire, less than 100 gross tons and carrying more than six paying
passengers, operating on U.S. navigable waterways be inspected by the Coast
Guard.
Licensed mariners are reminded to follow the operating conditions listed
in the vessel’s certificate of inspection to ensure the safety of all
passengers aboard.
While his license is suspended, Chesbrough may not operate a
vessel with any number of paying passengers aboard.