Area of Special Interest - any water of the Commonwealth that is found by the Secretary of the Office of Environmental Affairs to contain one or more immobile obstacles to navigation, or abuts or includes areas of critical environmental concern, is designated as an estuary of national significance, abuts or includes habitat for endangered species, abuts or includes public recreation areas, supports shell fishing, fin fishing or tourist industries, or abuts or includes sensitive public safety areas. Such waters shall include, but not be limited to, Buzzards Bay, Vineyard Sound, and Mount Hope Bay.

Automatic Identification System (AIS) - a maritime navigation safety communications system standardized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that provides vessel information, including the vessel's identity, type, position, course, speed, navigational status, and other safety-related information automatically to appropriately equipped shore stations, other ships, and aircraft; receives automatically such information from similarly fitted ships; monitors and tracks ships; and exchanges data with shore-based facilities.

Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (ARPA) - a computer assisted radar data processing system that can be used to track objects using radar contacts, calculate the tracked object's course, speed and closest point of approach, thereby indicating if there is a danger of collision with another vessel or a landmass. A typical ARPA gives a presentation of a current situation and uses computer technology to predict future situations. An ARPA assesses the risk of collision, and enables the vessel operator to see proposed maneuvers by its own ship.

Buzzards Bay - the waterway bounded and described as follows: from Sakonnet Point southward to the north end of the Buzzards Bay traffic separation zone, to the southwestern tip of Cuttyhunk Island thence through Buzzards Bay to the eastern entrance of the Cape Cod Canal at the United States Coast Guard "CC" Buoy in Cape Cod Bay, including Woods Hole Passage and Quicks Hole.

Buzzards Bay Approaches.

1. (a) the area up to 120 nautical miles to the north and east of Buzzards Bay including the waters off of Portland Harbor, Maine in approximate position latitude 43°-31.7' N, longitude 70°-05.5' W and including all of Cape Cod Bay and its eastern approaches; and
2. (b) the area up to 120 nautical miles to the west and south of the Buzzards Bay Entrance Light including all of Vineyard Sound, Narragansett Bay and Block Island Sound, and Long Island Sound as far west as Execution Rocks in approximate position latitude 40°-52.6' N, longitude 70°-44.3' W.

Contractor - the company selected by the Department pursuant to a competitive procurement to provide State-provided Tugboat Escort services, pursuant to the requirements in 314 CMR 19.06.

Cape Cod Canal - the waterway between the Cape Cod buoy at the eastern end of the entrance of the Cape Cod Canal in approximate position 41°-49.0' N, longitude 70°-27.7' W and the "G 1" buoy at the western entrance of the Cape Cod Canal in approximate position 41°-40.9' N, longitude 70°-40.8' W.

Commissioner - the Commissioner of the Department.

Department - the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) - a computer-based navigation information system that complies with International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations and can be used in lieu of paper navigation charts in some areas. The true ECDIS system displays information from electronic navigational charts and integrates position information from the Global Positioning System (GPS) and other navigational sensors, such as radar, fathometer and automatic identification systems (AIS).

State Pilot - a pilot commissioned under M.G.L. c. 103, or a pilot having received a first class federal pilot's endorsement for the waters of Buzzards Bay and Cape Cod Canal prior to March 1, 2009 and having executed at least 15 round trips as a pilot in such waters within the three years preceding that date, proof of which shall be documented by submitting a Master's Letter of Discharge or notarized written affidavit by the pilot indicating the name of the vessel and the date(s) and time(s) of each trip covered by the affidavit.

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 in Buzzards Bay, and which shall:

1. (a) provide on-the-water-monitoring of these Tank Vessels;
2. (b) have the ability to warn vessels of actual or potential threats to navigation;
3. (c) be available to assist immediately to the threat of an accident;
4. (d) not be more than ¼ of a nautical mile away from a Tank Vessel during such escort;

5. (e) be equipped with:

   1. 1. twin radar displays equipped with ECDIS or ARPA capable of integrating AIS;
   2. 2. a towing winch and associated wire and gear capable of towing, at minimum, a 470 foot fully loaded Tank Vessel;
   3. 3. firefighting equipment as provided in 314 CMR 19.06(3); and
   4. 4. such other requirements, as specified in 314 CMR 19.06.

Tank Barge - a Tank Vessel without a means of self-propulsion or a self-propelled Tank Vessel less than 40 meters, 130 feet, in overall length.

Tank Vessel - a ship that is constructed or adapted to carry, or that carries, oil or other petroleum product in bulk as cargo and that operates on the Waters of the Commonwealth or transfers oil or other petroleum products in a port or place subject to the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth.

Target Vessel - a Tank Vessel operating in Buzzards Bay that is both carrying 6,000 or more barrels of oil as cargo, and unaccompanied by a Tugboat Escort.

Tugboat Escort:

1. (a) a tug with twin screws and a separate system for power to each screw, with an aggregate shaft horsepower equivalent to 4,000 horsepower or greater and a minimum bollard pull of 50 tons; or
2. (b) a tractor tug, having an aggregate horsepower equivalent to 4,000 horsepower or greater and a minimum bollard pull of 50 tons, which is propelled by blades or screws which may be manipulated or rotated to provide propulsive thrust to any part of a 360° arc relative to the keel or longitudinal axis of the tug. 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).

Vessel Assistance - assistance rendered to a vessel in danger of grounding, allision or collision in the event of propulsion failure, parted tow line, loss of tow, fire, grounding, or any other circumstance that threatens the integrity or navigational safety of the vessel.

Vessel Movement Monitoring System - a shore-based system that provides real-time vessel tracking by satellite, radar, AIS or other means and that supplies information regarding vessel locations and traffic. Tracking data provided must include but is not limited to: vessel name, maritime mobile service identity number, navigation status, speed over ground, position, heading, type of ship and cargo, destination, estimated time of arrival, and operation route plan.

Waters of the Commonwealth - all waters within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth, including, without limitation, rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, springs, impoundments, estuaries, wetlands, coastal waters, and ground waters.