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19.16.275 Restrictions of Towage.

City Code Section

(Amended by Ordinance No. 190448, effective July 16, 2021.)

A.  The Harbor Master is authorized to stipulate the number and size and arrangement of any barges, rafts, or other objects which shall be allowed to be towed through the harbor by any certain power boat or towboat; and no master, owner, agent, or person in charge of any towboat shall tow in the Portland harbor unless the towboat has sufficient power to safely handle the object in tow and to keep it from obstructing any channel or fairway.  If at any time such tow shall obstruct navigation, or if the Harbor Master finds that said towboat does not have sufficient power to safely handle the tow, the Harbor Master shall order same promptly removed or secured, and the expense thereof shall be recoverable by the City.

B.  It is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to enter the City limits with any vessel, barge, boat, scow, or other floating object that has been wrecked, damaged, or that may be in any unsafe and liable to sink due to such condition, or cause any above-named dangerous object to be towed into the harbor, where it may become submerged and an unsafe object to navigation, life, and property of the community, without first obtaining permission in writing from the Harbor Master. 

C.  Any uncommissioned vessel or other large tow which is difficult to control or which in any way endangers the bridges crossing the Willamette River, will not be allowed to pass through any of the drawbridges crossing the Willamette River, unless it is equipped with an anchor of sufficient size, ready to drop, to hold the vessel or tow in any stage of water, and sufficient number of capable workers to handle such vessel shall be on board.  Any such vessel or other large tow not so equipped may be ordered tied up by the Harbor Master until the requirements of this Section have been complied with.

D.  In the event the object being towed gets out of control and damages public or private property or sinks and becomes a menace to navigation, the agent or responsible party making this tow shall remove the sunken object at the earliest possible time. 

E.  Any uncommissioned vessel passing through the bridges crossing the Willamette River within the City limits must have the services of a local pilot, provided, however, that if the Harbor Master shall, in their discretion, determine that the services of a local pilot are not necessary under prevailing conditions, this requirement may be waived.