SECTION 1. Said section 1 of said chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the term “Rescue Tug” and its corresponding definition and inserting in place thereof the following term and definition:- “State-provided tugboat escort”, a tugboat escort, the primary purpose of which shall be to serve as an escort tug for unescorted tank vessels carrying 6,000 or more barrels of oil, and provide on the water monitoring of these tank vessels, and have the ability to warn vessels of actual or potential threats to navigation, and be available to assist immediately to the threat of an accident, and shall never be more than ¼ of a nautical mile away from a tank vessel.   State-provided tugboat escorts shall be equipped with (i) twin radar displays equipped with ECDIS or ARPA capable of integrating AIS, (ii) a towing winch and associated wire and gear capable of towing, at minimum, a 470 foot fully loaded tank vessel,  (iii) pilot disembarkment gear, (iv) fire fighting equipment as determined adequate by the Commissioner pursuant to subsection (c) of section 6 of this chapter; .

Section 2:  Said section 1 of said chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the following definition: -

“Response time”, the amount of time required for a rescue tug to assist a tank vessel.” 

Section 3.  Said section 1 of said chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in lines 47 through 51, the following sentence:- “As of January 1, 2006, a tugboat escort shall be equipped with fire fighting equipment and, at a minimum, shall meet the requirements of the following American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) classifications: Fire Fighting Vessel Class 1 and Maltese Cross A1 (Towing Vessel).”

Section 4:  Section 9(c) of said Chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the words “be available to” and inserting in place of the following words:- “escort every”.

Section 5: Said section 9(c) of said Chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the following words:- “The commissioner shall establish by regulation the maximum response times that state-provided tugboat escorts shall maintain upon being dispatched.” 

Section 6: Section 9(f) of said Chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking the following words:- “authorize longer response times and fewer state pilots if he determines that exigent circumstances exist.” and replacing them with the following words:- “not dispatch state-provided tugboat escorts and state pilots if the department determines that exigent circumstances exist.” 

Section 7: Said section 9(f) of said Chapter 21M, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the phrase, “joint committee on the environment, natural resources and agriculture” the following words:- “as well as report in the Environmental Monitor”.   

Section 8: Section 9(g) of said Chapter 21M, as so appearing is hereby amended by striking out the words: -  “maximum response times” and replacing it with the following words:- “the dispatching of state-provided tugboat escorts ”

SECTION 2.   This Act shall take effect upon its passage.