Skip to Content
The 193rd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  1. General Laws
  2. Part I ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
  3. Title II EXECUTIVE AND ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH
  4. Chapter 21M VESSEL TRAFFIC SERVICE
  5. Section 3 Tank vessel; owner and operator; chemical testing

Section 3

Section 3: Tank vessel; owner and operator; chemical testing

Section 3. Personnel employed by tank vessels operating within the waters of the commonwealth shall be subject to this section.

An owner or operator of a tank vessel shall have policies, procedures and practices for alcohol and drug testing that comply with 33 CFR Part 95 and 46 CFR Parts 4 and 16. The owner's and operator's policies, procedures, and practices shall ensure that:

(i) a person neither consumes, nor is under the influence of, alcohol on a tank vessel while on the waters of the commonwealth unless that person is a passenger who does not perform, and will not perform, any duty on that tank vessel; and

(ii) a person neither consumes, nor is under the influence of, illicit drugs on a tank vessel while in the waters of the commonwealth.

The policies, procedures and practices for alcohol and drug testing shall meet the following objectives:

(i) chemical tests for evidence of alcohol or drug use shall be taken from all persons directly involved in a serious marine incident as defined in 46 CFR 4.03–4 as soon as practicable, but not more than 2 hours, after any such incident occurs which involves the vessel, with such tests performed in such a manner as to ensure best achievable accuracy and a demonstrable connection between each tested person and the corresponding test results;

(ii) owners and operators of tank vessels shall be responsible for ensuring that each of their tank vessels operating in the waters of the commonwealth has adequate equipment on board to perform the chemical tests described in this section and to preserve evidence pertaining to those tests, including all test results and evidence of the timeliness of the tests; and that a person on a tank vessel shall be tested for drug and alcohol use when there is reasonable cause to believe the person is under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs.

Any person who violates this section shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each such violation. The attorney general may institute a civil action for enforcement in the superior court of Suffolk county.