Hochstetler

In this case of apparent first impression, we hold that state authorities can suspend the state pilot license of a ship’s pilot, even though the grounds for his suspension occurred when he was acting under the authority of his federal pilot license—at the time he crashed a loaded oil tanker into a terminal. Action by state authorities against the pilot’s state license does not offend principles of federal-state comity, where the state does not purport to suspend or otherwise impair the pilot’s federal license.

I. Facts and Procedural History

A. Appellant Crashes an Oil Tanker Into a Wharf

On the morning of April 14, 1989, appellant went aboard the supertanker Overseas Juneau, an oil tanker en route from Valdez, Alaska loaded with 400,000 barrels of oil, in order to pilot the ship into moorage at Chevron Oil Company’s Richmond Long Wharf in San Francisco Bay. The weather was clear, visibility was unlimited, and the tidal current was ebbing at less than one knot.

Appellant gave a number of orders while piloting the ship, which ultimately resulted in an “allision,” in which the ship crashed head on into the wharf. This constituted grounds for action against his pilot…