VES-3/5-CO:R:IT:C 111615 GEV
William N. Myhre, Esq.
Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds
1735 New York Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006-4759
RE: Coastwise Trade; Fisheries; Net Servicing Platform; 46
U.S.C. App. 289, 883; 46 U.S.C. 12101, 12108
Dear Mr. Myhre:
This is in response to your letter dated April 5, 1991,
requesting a ruling on behalf of Connors Aquaculture, Inc. the
owners of a floating Canadian-built net servicing platform. Our
ruling on this matter is set forth below.
FACTS:
Connors Aquaculture, Inc. ("Connors") is the owner of a
Canadian-built non-self-propelled platform made of steel and
measuring 24' by 50' by 30" deep. An all-wood service building
measuring 24' by 30' is affixed to the platform. The platform is
also equipped with one "Netmaster" heavy duty net washer. The
builder's estimate of the gross tonnage of the platform, under
Canadian measurement, is approximately 12.5 gross tons. The Net
Servicing Platform is presently undocumented.
Connors intends to tow the platform to Eastport, Maine where
it will be moored in a stationary position to augment the
company's aquaculture operations at that location by providing
space to service nets. Specifically, a coastwise-qualified
vessel will pick up empty nets at various cage sites in the area
and bring them to the Net Servicing Platform where the nets will
be washed and cleaned. The nets will also be inspected for any
damage or wear and tear and will be repaired as necessary. The
nets will then be picked up by a coastwise-qualified vessel for
re-delivery back to the appropriate cage site. There will be no
other equipment on the Net Servicing Platform other than the net
washing machine, and ancillary net repair equipment and
materials.
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The washing and repair will be undertaken by two or three
employees of Connors who generally will work a normal work day,
five days a week. There are no overnight accommodations on the
platform. The operations conducted on the platform are identical
to those presently conducted on land, but because of competing
demands for the limited land available, the net cleaning function
is being transferred to the floating platform. The Net Servicing
Platform will be used only for the net cleaning and repair
described above and will not operate to process, store,
transport, plant, cultivate, catch, take or harvest fish or other
marine life.
Once the platform is initially stationed, the normal
operations of the aquaculture facility do not require movement of
the platform nor does Connors plan to relocate the platform. To
the extent it is ever moved, however, such movement will be
undertaken without any individuals or merchandise on board.
In addition to the aforementioned Net Servicing Platform,
Connors attempted to bring into the United States through the
Port of Calais, Maine the FREDA C, an 18' by 40' powered-steel
barge, also built in Canada. It is anticipated that the FREDA C
will measure less than 5 net tons and hence will be excluded from
U.S. documentation. Customs officials in Calais advised Connors
that the vessel could engage in the fisheries provided it
measured less than 5 net tons. Because the U.S. Coast Guard had
not completed measurement of the vessel at the time of its
attempted entry, Customs officials prohibited the importation and
required the barge to be exported immediately from the United
States.
The Net Servicing Platform was also prohibited from
importation. The application was reviewed by Customs officials
in Portland, Maine who concluded that to the extent the platform
measured more than 5 net tons, and was foreign-built, it could
not be imported into the United States pursuant to C.D. 971.
ISSUES:
1. Whether a foreign-built, stationary, floating platform
operating exclusively as a net cleaning and repair facility in
connection with a fisheries operation in U.S. waters is engaged
in the fisheries as defined in 46 U.S.C. 12101(a) and is
therefore in violation of 46 U.S.C. 12108.
2. Whether a foreign-built, stationary, floating platform
operating exclusively as a net cleaning and repair facility in
connection with a fisheries operation in U.S. waters is engaging
in the coastwise trade in violation of 46 U.S.C. App. 883.
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3. Whether a foreign-built barge of less than 5 net tons
operating in connection with a fisheries operation in U.S. waters
is engaged in the fisheries as defined in 46 U.S.C. 12101(a) and
is therefore in violation of 46 U.S.C. 12108.
4. Whether a foreign-built barge of less than 5 net tons
operating in connection with a fisheries operation in U.S. waters
is engaged in the coastwise trade in violation of 46 U.S.C. App.
883.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Anti-Reflagging Act
of 1987 (the "Act", Pub. L. 100-239; 101 Stat. 1778) amended 46
U.S.C. 12101(6) by changing the definition of "fisheries" set
forth therein to include the "processing, storing, and
transporting (except in foreign commerce)" of fish and related
fishery resources in United States navigable waters and the
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), as well as the catching-related
activities provided for in the former definition. Accordingly,
the new definition of fisheries, now set forth in 46 U.S.C.
12101(a)(1) reads as follows:
"fisheries" includes processing, storing,
transporting (except in foreign commerce),
planting, cultivating, catching, taking, or
harvesting fish, shellfish, marine animals,
pearls, shells, or marine vegetation in the
navigable waters of the United States or in
the exclusive economic zone.
The EEZ is defined in Presidential Proclamation 5030 of
March 10, 1983 (48 FR 10605), as extending outward for 200
nautical miles from the baseline from which the territorial sea
is measured.
The above definition of fisheries supersedes the definition
of "fishing" found in section 4.96(a)(5), Customs Regulations (19
CFR 4.96(a)(5) which included the transportation of marine
products by a vessel other than the taking vessel under the
complete control and management of a common owner or bareboat
charterer. It should be noted that this superseded definition
was applicable only to the transportation of marine products
taken and transferred on the high seas and did not provide any
exception to the coastwise laws.
Title 46, United States Code, section 12108(b) limits the
employment in the fisheries to a vessel issued a certificate of
documentation with a fishery endorsement, "subject to the laws of
the United States regulating the fisheries" (see e.g., 16 U.S.C.
1801, et seq., under which a foreign vessel may obtain a permit
from the National Marine Fisheries Service to engage in fishing- 4 -
in the EEZ). Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1401(a), the word "vessel"
includes every description of water craft or other contrivance
used, or capable of being used, as a means of transportation in
water, but does not include aircraft. Under 46 U.S.C. 12108(a),
only a vessel eligible for documentation (i.e., over 5 net tons
and owned by a U.S. citizen) which was built in the United States
may be endorsed for the fisheries. Pursuant to 46 U.S.C.
12108(b), subject to the laws of the United States regulating the
fisheries, only a vessel so endorsed may engage in the fisheries.
With regard to vessels of less than 5 net tons, Customs has long
held that such vessels, if owned by United States citizens or by
resident aliens, may engage in the fisheries even if foreign-
built (see e.g., Treasury Decision (T.D.) 56382(6)). Legislative
support for this provision may be found in 16 U.S.C. 1802(31)(B).
Title 46, United States Code Appendix, section 883 (46
U.S.C. App. 883), the coastwise merchandise statute often called
the "Jones Act", provides, in part, that no merchandise shall be
transported between points in the United States embraced within
the coastwise laws, either directly or via a foreign port, or for
any part of the transportation, in any vessel other than a vessel
built in and documented under the laws of the United States and
owned by persons who are citizens of the United States (i.e., a
coastwise-qualified vessel). This statute has been found to
apply even to the transportation of merchandise from point to
point within a harbor. Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1401(c), the word
"merchandise" means goods, wares and chattels of every
description and includes merchandise the importation of which is
prohibited. Furthermore, Public Law 100-329 (102 Stat. 588)
amended section 883 to apply to the transportation of "valueless
material..."
Title 46, United States Code Appendix, section 289 (46
U.S.C. App. 289, the passenger coastwise law) as interpreted by
the Customs Service, prohibits the transportation of passengers
between points in the United States embraced within the coastwise
laws, either directly or by way of a foreign port, in a non-
coastwise-qualified vessel (see above). For purposes of section
289, "passenger" is defined as "...any person carried on a vessel
who is not connected with the operation of such vessel, her
navigation, ownership, or business." (19 CFR 4.50(b))
The coastwise laws generally apply to points in the
territorial sea, defined as the belt, three nautical miles wide,
seaward of the territorial sea baseline, and to points located in
internal waters, landward of the territorial sea baseline, in
cases where the baseline and the coastline differ.
In regard to the Net Servicing Platform under consideration,
it is apparent that its exclusive use in cleaning and repairing
nets does not fall within the definition of "fisheries" as set
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forth in 46 U.S.C. 12101(a). Accordingly, the proposed use of
this stationary foreign-built platform in connection with a
fisheries operation would not violate 46 U.S.C. 12108.
Furthermore, Customs has long-held that the use of a non-
coastwise-qualified vessel as a moored facility does not violate
the coastwise laws, or any other law administered by Customs
provided that the vessel remains stationary. Accordingly, the
proposed use of this foreign-built platform in connection with a
fisheries operation would not violate 46 U.S.C. 289 or 883.
In regard to the FREDA C we note that its proposed use in
this fishing operation is unclear. If the vessel is to be used
the same way as the Net Servicing Platform discussed above (i.e.,
moored in a stationary position for the purpose of cleaning and
repairing nets) it also would not be considered engaged in the
fisheries as defined in 46 U.S.C. 12101(a), nor would it
constitute coastwise trade within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. App.
289 and 883.
If the FREDA C is used for the transportation of merchandise
and/or passengers between coastwise points (e.g., from a point
within U.S. waters to a point on shore) it is engaged in the
coastwise trade. Pursuant to section 4.80(a)(2), Customs
Regulations (19 CFR 4.80(a)(2)), no foreign-built vessel,
regardless of its tonnage, may engage in the coastwise trade.
Accordingly, such use would be a violation of 46 U.S.C. App. 289
and/or 883. The use discussed immediately below would not be a
use in the coastwise trade under those statutes.
In the event the FREDA C is engaged in the fisheries as
defined in 46 U.S.C. 12101(a), since it is foreign-built,
regardless of its tonnage it is not eligible for documentation
for the fisheries under 46 U.S.C. 12108. We note, however, that
if it is less than 5 net tons, equipped with propulsion equipment
of any kind, and numbered pursuant to 46 U.S.C. 12301 et seq. it
is considered a vessel of the United States pursuant to 16 U.S.C.
1802(31)(B) and may engage in the fisheries provided it is owned
by United States citizens or resident aliens.
It should be noted that C.D. 971, while determinative as to
what constitutes a "vessel" for purposes of assessing duty under
the appropriate tariff provision, is irrelevant regarding issues
pertaining to the use of vessels in the fisheries and coastwise
trade.
HOLDINGS:
1. A foreign-built, stationary, floating platform operating
exclusively as a net cleaning and repair facility in connection
with a fisheries operation in U.S. waters is not engaged in the - 6 -
fisheries as defined in 46 U.S.C. 12101(a) and therefore is not
in violation of 46 U.S.C. 12108.
2. A foreign-built, stationary, floating platform operating
exclusively as a net cleaning and repair facility in connection
with a fisheries operation in U.S. waters is not engaged in the
coastwise trade and therefore is not in violation of 46 U.S.C.
App. 289 and 883.
3. A foreign-built barge of less than 5 net tons operating
in connection with a fisheries operation in U.S. waters is not
engaged in the fisheries as defined in 46 U.S.C. 12101(a) if it
is operating exclusively as a net cleaning and repair facility
and therefore is not in violation of 46 U.S.C. 12108.
If its activities in this fishing operation go beyond a net
cleaning and repair facility to include those activities listed
in 46 U.S.C. 12101(a), it is engaged in the fisheries and,
regardless of its tonnage, since it is foreign-built it is not
eligible for documentation for the fisheries under 46 U.S.C.
12108(a). If, however, it is numbered pursuant to 46 U.S.C.
12301 et seq. it is considered a vessel of the United States
pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 1802(31)(B) and may engage in the fisheries
provided it is owned by United States citizens or by resident
aliens.
4. A foreign-built barge of less than 5 net tons operating
in connection with a fisheries operation in U.S. waters is not
engaged in the coastwise trade in violation of 46 U.S.C. App. 289
and 883 provided it remains moored in a stationary position. If
it is used for the transportation of passengers and/or
merchandise between coastwise points it is engaged in the
coastwise trade which, notwithstanding its tonnage, constitutes a
violation of the coastwise laws pursuant to section 4.80(a)(2),
Customs Regulations.
Sincerely,
B. James Fritz
Chief
Carrier Rulings Branch