VES-13-18 CO:R:P:C 110931 JBW
Chief, Technical Branch
Commercial Operations
Pacific Region
1 World Trade Center
Long Beach, CA 90831
RE: Vessel Repair Entry No. 110-0103957-4; Date of Entry:
November 30, 1989; Date of Arrival: November 25, 1989;
Vessel: PRESIDENT HARRISON V-32
Dear Sir:
This letter is in response to your transmittal of March
2, 1990, forwarded for our review and ruling regarding a request
for remission submitted by Mr. Robert Weeks of American
President Lines involving the above referenced vessel repair
entry, items 1 and 2.
FACTS:
The record reflects that the subject vessel arrived at
the port of Seattle, Washington, on November 25, 1989. Vessel
repair entry number 110-0103957-4, Customs Form 226, was filed
on November 30, 1989, indicating foreign repairs to the ship's
starboard gangway and her diesel generator power pack container
performed by The Yokohama Engineering Works, Ltd., in Yokohama,
Japan.
American President Lines filed an application for
relief on February 13, 1990, following a timely filed request for
extension of time. The application asserts that damages to the
gangway and power pack resulted from heavy weather. The
documentation submitted indicates that the damages occurred
between midnight and 6:00 A.M. on October 31, 1989. During this
time, the damage report places the wind speed at 45 knots and
the height of sea at 25 feet (7.6 meters). The damage report
for the gangway describes a "boarding sea." No documentation was
submitted relating to the safety and seaworthiness of the vessel.
ISSUE:
Whether the foreign work performed on the subject
vessel for which the applicant seeks relief is dutiable under 19
U.S.C. 1466 (1982).
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Title 19, United States Code, section 1466, provides in
pertinent part for payment of duty in the amount of 50 percent ad
valorem on the cost of foreign repairs to vessels documented
under the laws of the United States to engage in foreign or
coastwise trade, or vessels intended to engage in such trade.
The statute provides for the remission of the above duties in
those instances where good and sufficient evidence is furnished
to show that foreign repairs were compelled by "stress of weather
or other casualty" and were necessary to secure the safety and
seaworthiness of the vessel to enable her to reach her port of
destination. 19 U.S.C. 1466(d)(1).
Customs Regulations require that certain supporting
evidence be submitted with an application for relief for damages
resulting from stress of weather. This evidence includes
photocopies of the relevant parts of the vessel's logs,
certification of any claimed casualty by the master or other
responsible vessel officer with personal knowledge of the facts,
and a certification by the master that the repairs were necessary
for the safety and seaworthiness of the vessel to enable her to
reach her port of destination in the United States. 19 C.F.R.
4.14(d)(1)(iii)(D)-(F) (1989).
In Treasury Decision 78-180, we set out guidelines to
be used when relief is requested on the basis that the vessel
encountered high winds. T.D. 78-180, 12 Cust. B. & Dec. 382
(1978). We held that winds of force 9 on the Beaufort Scale, a
numerical scale rating winds according to ascending velocity from
zero (calm) to twelve (hurricane), accompanied by a reasonable
description of the conditions and verified as required in the
regulations, raise a presumption that damages caused were due to
stress of weather. Id. The damage reports filed by the ship's
master indicate winds of 45 knots, which represent a force 9
wind. R. de Kerchove, International Maritime Dictionary 52 (2d
ed. 1961). Moreover, these reports describe "boarding seas" with
heights of 25 feet. This evidence appears sufficient to support
the claim that damages, and consequent repairs, to the gangway
and the power pack resulted from the weather conditions
described.
As noted above, to claim remission because of stress of
weather, the applicant must demonstrate not only that the foreign
repairs were compelled by stress of weather, but also that the
repairs were necessary for the safety and seaworthiness of the
vessel. Such evidence may take the form of a certificate
furnished by the master as required by the regulation. The
record in this case does not contain certification or any other
statement by the master that the repairs were necessary for the
safety and seaworthiness of the vessel to enable her to reach her
United States port of destination. The application for relief,
therefore, must be denied.
HOLDING:
The foreign work for which the applicant seeks relief
is dutiable under 19 U.S.C. 1466.
Sincerely,
B. James Fritz
Chief
Carrier Rulings Branch