In an effort to improve safety aboard passenger-carrying freshwater vessels, Rep. John Robinson, R-Raymond, will soon meet with several state agencies to try to enact an inspection procedure on freshwater boats for hire.

Locally, the legislation would affect commercial boats such as the Songo River Queen and Frye Island Ferry service, which some are saying has potential safety issues.

“We have started to bring together the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Departments of Transportation and Conservation to craft something to put proper safeguards in place,” Robinson said Thursday.

Though it is not yet clear which department will oversee the inspections, Robinson said it may fall under the Department of Transportation. While this department is already responsible for utilizing Coast Guard requirements to oversee inspection and certification of saltwater commercial passenger boats, Robinson has discovered that no agency in the state is charged with that responsibility for their freshwater counterparts.

Awareness of passenger boat safety issues has increased the last two weeks following a fatal tour boat accident on Lake George in upstate New York. Although a cause has not yet been determined, the New York boat, which was carrying 48 senior citizens and one crewmember, capsized in calm weather, claiming 20 lives.

With this tragedy as a grim motivator, Robinson, whose district includes Frye Island, is pushing for the accountability and increased safety that regular inspections would impose.

Robinson was also spurred on by a call he received from a Frye Island constituent who had concerns about the safety of the Frye Island Ferry. She questioned how passengers would be able to escape from their cars in the event of an emergency. On busy days, the vehicles are parked three abreast on the ferry deck and riders are unable to open their doors.

Since he started investigating Maine’s policy concerning for-hire boat safety, Robinson said he has been referred to one agency after another, receiving only “vague responses” from various state agencies regarding inspections for freshwater ferries and excursion boats.

But, when Robinson spoke with Major Thomas Santaguida, deputy chief warden in the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, he discovered a few provisions that might apply.

“There are intermittent inspections for compliance with license and life jackets,” Robinson said, “but according to those operating the ferries, the last time they were inspected has been a long time.”

Santaguida also found an item in the department’s guidelines that states: “The commissioner may cause a motorboat carrying passengers for hire to be examined from time to time.”

But Robinson is still trying to determine if this statute even covers the ferry service.

Bill Mulkern, of Portland, was with the Coast Guard for 30 years and has been a captain for the Frye Island Ferry since 1987. He has serious concerns about his passengers’ safety on the 35-year-old ferries.

“You put nine cars on and you can’t get back and forth in the boat,” Mulkern said. “I can’t get back to the cabin without climbing underneath mirrors and squeezing. People in the cars couldn’t get out of the cars if you did have an accident,” Mulkern said.

Mulkern believes carrying a maximum of six cars per trip could alleviate this problem.

In a phone interview on Tuesday, Frye Island’s Town Manager Wayne Fournier said captains must use judgment when loading the ferries.

“Captains can use their discretion as to how to load them safely,” he said. “I’m sure where it’s been the captain’s discretion there have been times when people have been concerned.”

But in peak season, lines waiting for the ferries stretch a distance down the road and, according to Mulkern, “people don’t want to wait.”

Frye Island is also considering a move to reduce the number of ferries in the summer from two to one during the week which could further increase waiting time. Fournier said the town was evaluating the number of passengers during those times to improve efficiency.

Mulkern says there are other hazards on the ferries as well that in his words “would never pass a Coast Guard inspection.” Of greatest concern is the lack of an activation mechanism in the wheelhouse or on deck for the fire extinguisher that is located in the engine room.

When Fournier was told of Mulkern’s assessment, he pointed out

that there are fire extinguishers on all levels but added that the remote activation of the engine room extinguisher might be a good idea to look into.

According to Fournier, a year ago, Frye Island hired a company to do a safety survey. The company recommended life jacket stenciling and the inclusion of auditory devices, both of which were completed. But Fournier said there were no mandatory safety issues.

Fournier supports Robinson in his attempt to mandate inspections.

“Some of the issues that John Robinson is discussing we have no objection to,” Fournier said. “I spoke with him earlier and asked if we could be of any help.”

If inspections become mandatory for freshwater passenger boats, the Songo River Queen would also be affected. But owner Frank Garrish, who is all for the oversight, said his boat would be in compliance.

“After I built the boat in 1981,” he said, “I called the state to inspect it but they said they didn’t do that.”

Instead, Garrish has Keith Morton of Raymond, an acquaintance and a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, inspect the vessel unofficially every year.

Robinson is hopeful that regulations can be put in place by the agencies involved in the upcoming meeting. But, in the event that lawyers determine it must be brought to a vote, he plans to submit emergency legislation to bring a bill requiring mandatory inspection of freshwater passenger boats for hire to a vote in January’s session. If passed, the law could be enacted 90 days after approval.

Ross Graham has been one of the Frye Island Ferry captains for the past seven years. He has safety concerns when cars are packed onto the deck.

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