VES-3-02-RR:BSTC:CCI H183157 WRB
Mr. Vladimir Tocaj
Wilhelmsen Ships Services
210 Edgewater Street
Staten Island, NY 10305
RE: Coastwise Transportation; 46 U.S.C. § 55103; 19 C.F.R. § 4.50(b)
Dear Mr. Tocaj:
This letter is in response to your correspondence of September 2, 2011, with respect to the coastwise transportation of an individual. Our ruling is set forth below.
FACTS:
You ask whether an individual may be transported on the non-coastwise-qualified M/T BOW TONE (the “vessel”), from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, to Houston, Texas, from September 5, 2011, through September 12, 2011. The individual is employed by the vessel owners as a superintendent, and would be transported in the capacity of the owners’ observer while a third-party auditor conducts a Navigation Audit pursuant to an Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP). The audit is mandated pursuant to a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice. The compliance audit consists of evaluating the officers and crew in regards to environmental policies and waste stream management, record keeping and equipment operation while the vessel is underway to verify compliance with the Plea Agreement. The individual will also carry out an internal ISM navigation audit of the vessel, while the vessel is underway, which will include observing the conduct of the bridge team during various stages of the passage, including the departure port, while the vessel is at sea, and arrival port including anchoring operations as applicable.
ISSUE:
Whether the subject individual is a “passenger” within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. § 55103 and 19 CFR § 4.50(b).
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Generally, the coastwise laws prohibit the transportation of passengers or merchandise between points in the United States embraced within the coastwise laws in any vessel other than a vessel built in, documented under the laws of, and owned by citizens of the United States. Such a vessel, after it has obtained a coastwise endorsement from the U.S. Coast Guard, is said to be “coastwise qualified.”
The coastwise laws generally apply to points in the territorial sea, which is 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.
The coastwise law applicable to the carriage of passengers is found in 46 U.S.C. § 55103 (recodified by Pub. L. 109-304, enacted on October 6, 2006) and provides that:
(a) In General. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter or chapter 121 of this title, a vessel may not transport passengers between ports or places in the United States to which the coastwise laws apply, either directly or via a foreign port, unless the vessel-
is wholly owned by citizens of the United States for purposes of engaging in the coastwise trade; and
has been issued a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement under chapter 121 or is exempt from documentation but would otherwise be eligible for such a certificate and endorsement.
(b) Penalty. The penalty for violating subsection (a) is $300 for each passenger transported and landed.
Section 4.50(b), Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Regulations (19 CFR § 4.50(b)) provides as follows:
A passenger within the meaning of this part is any person carried on a vessel who is not connected with the operation, navigation, ownership, or business of the vessel.
In the present case, you state that the subject individual is employed by the vessel owners as a superintendent, and would be transported in the capacity of the owners’ observer while a third-party auditor conducts a Navigation Audit pursuant to an Environmental Compliance Plan (ECP). The individual will also carry out an internal ISM navigation audit of the vessel, while the vessel is underway, which will include observing the conduct of the bridge team during various stages of the passage, including the departure port, while the vessel is at sea, and arrival port including anchoring operations as applicable.
In accordance with previous Headquarters rulings, workmen, technicians, or observers transported by vessel between ports of the United States are not classified as “passengers” (within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. § 55103 and 19 CFR § 4.50(b)) if they are required to be onboard to contribute to the accomplishment of the operation or navigation of the vessel during the voyage or are onboard because of a necessary vessel ownership or business interest during the voyage. (See HQ 101699 [November 5, 1975]; see also HQ 116721 [September 25, 2006], quoting HQ 101699.) Furthermore, the shipboard activities engaged in by such aforementioned individuals while traveling on a non-coastwise-qualified vessel between coastwise ports must be “directly and substantially” related to the operation, navigation, ownership, or business of the vessel itself in order for such individuals to not be considered as passengers under these provisions of law. (See HQ 116721, supra; and see HQ 116659 [May 19, 2006], referencing the “direct and substantial” test.)
In the present case, we find that the proposed activities described in your request would be directly and substantially connected with the operation of the vessel and we therefore determine that the subject individual is not a “passenger” within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. § 55103 and 19 CFR § 4.50(b). Accordingly, the coastwise transportation of the individual in question would not be in violation of 46 U.S.C. § 55103.
HOLDING:
The subject individual is not a “passenger” within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. § 55103 and 19 CFR § 4.50(b). Therefore, the coastwise transportation of such individual is not in violation of 46 U.S.C. § 55103.
Sincerely,
George Frederick McCray
Supervisory Attorney-Advisor/Chief
Cargo Security, Carriers and Immigration Branch
Office of International Trade, Regulations & Rulings
U.S. Customs and Border Protection