Coastwise Trade; School of Seamanship; 46 U.S.C. App. 289

HQ 111991 February 6, 1992 VES-3-CO:R:IT:C 111991 GEV CATEGORY: Carriers Thomas Danti Dean of Instruction Chapman School of Seamanship 4343 S.E. St. Lucie Boulevard Stuart, Florida 34997 RE: Coastwise Trade; School of Seamanship; 46 U.S.C. App. 289 Dear Mr. Danti: This is in response to your letter dated November 13, 1991, concerning the documentation of your fleet of vessels in the coastwise trade. Our ruling is set forth below. FACTS: Chapman School of Seamanship, located in Stuart, Florida, is a non-profit marine school offering courses in navigation and seamanship for both recreational boaters and those persons seeking professional mariner training. The courses are conducted using the school's fleet of vessels in the general area where the school is located (i.e., the southeast coast of Florida). The students and the vessels on which the students receive instruction return to the same point of departure at the end of the instruction period. ISSUE: Whether the use of a vessel for purposes of offering instruction in navigation and seamanship is considered a use in the coastwise trade within the purview of 46 U.S.C. App. 289. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Title 46, United States Code Appendix, section 289 (the passenger coastwise law), as interpreted by the Customs Service, prohibits the transportation of passengers between points embraced within the coastwise laws, either directly or by way of a foreign port, in any vessel other than a vessel built in, documented under the laws of, and owned by citizens of the United States. Pursuant to section 4.50(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR - 2 - 4.50(b)), the word "passenger," for purposes of this provision, is defined as "...any person carried on a vessel who is not connected with the operation of such vessel, her navigation, ownership, or business." In our interpretation of section 289, we have long-held that a person transported on a vessel as a student in courses such as oceanography or sailing and seamanship, when the presence of that person is required on board the vessel as a part of his or her course or training, is not a passenger, for purposes of the coastwise laws. Accordingly, the use of vessels by the Chapman School of Seamanship as described above is not a use in the coastwise trade within the purview of 46 U.S.C. App. 289. HOLDING: The use of a vessel for purposes of offering instruction in navigation and seamanship is not considered a use in the coastwise trade within the purview of 46 U.S.C. App. 289. Sincerely, B. James Fritz Chief Carrier Rulings Branch