VES-13-18 CO:R:IT:C 111647 BEW
Chief, Technical Branch
Pacific Region
1 World Trade Center
Long Beach, California 90831
RE: Vessel Repair Entry No. 110-0104033-3 SEA-LAND MARINER V-
lll; Vessel Repairs; casualty; evidence
Dear Sir:
This is in reference to an application for relief from
duties filed by Sea-Land Service, Inc., in relation to the above
referenced vessel repair entry dated January 29, 1991. The
entry and the application were timely filed. The vessel arrived
at the port of Tacoma, Washington, on January 29, 1991.
FACTS:
The SEA-LAND MARINER is a U.S.-flag vessel, owned by Sequa
Capital Corp. The record shows that the shipyard work in
question was performed on the subject vessel In Yokohama and
Kobe, Japan, during the period of December 29 and 30, 1990.
The applicant requests review for remission of duty on the
following repairs:
Item # Description
01 Yokohama Eng. Invoice -
Starboard ladder damage
02 ABS Survey
03 Posa Marine
04 Omi. Eng. Anchor chain
guards
The applicant claims that each of the invoices submitted
relate to the repairs necessary because of a casualty.
The applicant contends that the vessel sustained damage as a
result of storm damage.
The Marine Note of Protest subscribed to by the ship's
master on December 28, 1990, in the port of Yokohama, Japan,
indicates that the vessel experienced "rough and boisterous
weather, seamy seas and swells with Force 8 winds on December 18,
19 and 27. In addition to the Marine Note of Protest, the file
contains copies of the master's statement, relevant pages from
the ship's log and official log containing the sea and wind
conditions during the crossing from Tacoma, Washington, to
Yokohama, Japan.
The damage occurred while the vessel was at sea and the
repairs were made at the first port of arrival. The master's
statement dated December 20, 1990, states that on December 18,
the vessel began to encounter rough weather, rough sea and heavy
northwesterly swells. The rough and heavy weather continued.
The master's statement shows that on December 19, the weather
remained too rough for the mate to inspect for damage. Upon
examination of the vessel on December 20, the following damage
was found:
1. Port and starboard guard rails at the hawsepipes
were badly bent with some stanchions uprooted from the
deck.
2. Buckled deck plating in the main deck No. 1 hatch
forward corner at frame 261. An indentation in the
deck of about a 4 foot curve in the shape of a quarter
circle, and is about 6 feet outboard of No. 1 port
coaming. Also buckled deck plating was found in the
main deck at No. 1 hatch after the starboard corner of
coaming. This buckle run longitudinally for about 3
feet.
3. Damage to container No. 4757103
4. The starboard gangway was bent and bowed
longitudinally. also, the electric wires carried away
from the fall hoisting motor.
You have requested our advice concerning repairs which
relate to the alleged casualty.
ISSUE:
Whether the evidence submitted demonstrates that the repairs
performed to the ship in a foreign shipyard were necessitated by
stress of weather and were necessary to secure the safety and
seaworthiness of the vessel.
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) (1991).
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. (See Rene de Kerchove, International Maritime
Dictionary 52 (2nd Ed. 1961). The damage reports filed by the
ship's master and the vessel log indicate winds of force 8 and
higher. The log entries during the periods during which the
damages occurred note that the vessel was pitching and rolling
moderately in very rough seas. This evidence appears sufficient
to support the applicant's claim that the damages for which
relief is sought 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.
In our review, we note that item 8 - Kwong Soon Engineering
Co. (pte) Ltd. Invoice No. 2449/L, relates to main engine
scavenge space cleaning. The removal of carbon and oil deposits
from the main engine scavenger spaces is a maintenance operation
the cost of which is subject to duty under section 1466. (See
Headquarters ruling 111700, copy enclosed).
HOLDING:
This evidence appears sufficient to support the applicant's
claim that the damages for which relief is sought resulted from
the weather conditions described. However, absent a
certification or other statement by the master that the repairs
were necessary for the safety and seaworthiness of the vessel,
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
Enclosure