This bill amends RCW 88.16.190 to change who may transit certain eastern Puget Sound waters and to set tug escort and horsepower requirements for oil tankers and certain barges. It prohibits any oil tanker greater than 125,000 deadweight tons from proceeding east of a line from Discovery Island light south to New Dungeness light without U.S. Coast Guard authorization under 33 C.F.R. §165.1303. Oil tankers of 40,000 to 125,000 deadweight tons may operate east of that line only if escorted by tugs with aggregate shaft horsepower of at least 3,000 or five percent of the tanker’s deadweight tons, whichever is greater. It also provides that, effective September 1, 2020, oil tankers of 5,000 to 40,000 deadweight tons and articulated tug barges or towed vessels/barge units greater than 5,000 deadweight tons may operate in Rosario Strait and connected waterways to the east only if escorted by tugs whose aggregate shaft horsepower is at least five percent of the deadweight tons of a 40,000 deadweight ton oil tanker. The amendment defines key terms (articulated tug barge, oil tanker, towed general cargo deck barge, waterborne vessel or barge), exempts vessels providing bunkering or refueling services and towed general cargo deck barges from the Rosario Strait escort requirement, and allows the Board of Pilotage Commissioners to adjust or suspend that requirement by rule consistent with RCW 88.16.260(1)(c). It states vessels in ballast or unladen are not required to be under tug escort and that a tanker assigned a deadweight of less than 40,000 at construction or reconstruction as reported in Lloyd’s Register of Ships is not subject to RCW 88.16.170 and 88.16.180. This is a modification of existing law creating operational and procedural navigational restrictions and escort horsepower requirements rather than a new criminal offense or penalty change. Affected entities and authorities referenced include the Board of Pilotage Commissioners, the U.S. Coast Guard, oil tankers, tugs, articulated tug barges, towed vessels or barges, bunkering vessels, and Lloyd’s Register of Ships. The bill passage dates are listed (house and senate votes in 2026), but the text also cites an effective date of September 1, 2020 for certain Rosario Strait provisions; the document does not explain the relationship between that earlier effective date and the 2026 enactment or provide the full text of the other RCW sections cited (RCW 88.16.170, 88.16.180, and 88.16.260(1)(c)), so full statutory context and any interactions with those sections are unclear from the extracted material.

If enacted, the rule will restrict movement of the largest oil tankers in Puget Sound and require stronger tug escort standards for others, so tanker operators will face higher operating costs, scheduling constraints, and potential limits on where very large ships can go without U.S. Coast Guard approval. Tanker companies moving vessels between 40,000 and 125,000 deadweight tons will need tugs whose combined shaft horsepower is at least 3,000 or five percent of the ship’s deadweight (whichever is greater), smaller loaded tankers and certain articulated tug-barge or towed oil-carrying units will need escorts in Rosario Strait based on a 5 percent horsepower benchmark, and tug operators may see more demand or need to invest in higher-power tugs. Exemptions for bunkering/refueling vessels and towed general cargo deck barges, an allowance that tankers in ballast need no escort, and a Lloyd’s Register deadweight cutoff that can exempt some ships will limit the scope of who pays those new costs; the Board of Pilotage Commissioners can also adjust or suspend the Rosario Strait escort requirement by rule, affecting timing and enforcement. Important context is missing that affects how these changes play out: the bill references other RCW sections whose content and enforcement details aren’t provided here, and it oddly sets an effective date of September 1, 2020 for certain escort rules despite passage actions in 2026, so it’s unclear how or whether that timing will be applied in practice.