Ray v. Atlantic Richfield Co.

1978-03-06

Headline: Court limited Washington’s tanker law, striking down state design and size bans that conflict with federal tanker standards while upholding tug-escort and some pilot rules, affecting tanker operators and Puget Sound navigation.

Holding: The Court held that federal law preempts Washington’s state rules that set tanker design standards and ban very large tankers, but allowed the State to require tug escorts and limited pilot rules until federal regulations take over.

Real World Impact:

Prevents states from blocking federally certified tankers based on their design.
Allows states to require tug escorts in Puget Sound until federal rules are issued.
Limits state pilot rules for coastwise vessels but permits pilot rules for registered foreign vessels.

Topics: tanker safety, state vs federal regulation, Puget Sound navigation, ship design standards, maritime traffic rules

Summary

Background

The dispute involved Washington’s 1975 Tanker Law, which sought to control the design, size, and movement of oil tankers in Puget Sound. An oil company operating the Cherry Point refinery and a tanker company challenged the law in federal court, saying it was pre-empted by federal maritime statutes. The District Court enjoined the law in full; the State appealed to the Supreme Court.

Reasoning

The main question was whether federal law gives the national government exclusive control over tanker design, size limits, and local navigation rules. The Court explained that Title II of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act assigns design and construction standards to the Secretary (through the Coast Guard), so state design rules that block federally certified ships are pre-empted. The Court also held that the State cannot impose pilotage requirements on coastwise-enrolled vessels but may require pilots for registered foreign-trade vessels. Under Title I the Secretary may set tug, size, and traffic rules; because he had not yet adopted a comprehensive tug rule for Puget Sound, Washington’s tug-escort requirement could stand for now. By contrast, the State’s outright ban on tankers over 125,000 deadweight tons was invalid because federal authorities had already addressed size and Congress intended national uniformity.

Real world impact

Practically, federally certified tankers cannot be blocked by differing state design standards, but tankers that do not meet state design criteria may be required to use tugs in Puget Sound until federal rules change. Pilot rules apply differently to enrolled and registered vessels. The ruling leaves open further federal rulemaking that could change these results.

Dissents or concurrances

Some Justices agreed only in part: one Justice would have upheld the size ban based on local conditions, while another argued the tug-escort penalty is inseparable from the invalid design rules and should also be struck down.