Coastwise Trade; 46 U.S.C. App.  289, 883

HQ 113217 Septembe 23, 1994 VES-3-CO:R:IT:C 113217 GEV CATEGORY: Carriers Darrel R. Eskelund Eskelund Marine Post Office Box 2742 Alameda, California 94501 RE: Coastwise Trade; 46 U.S.C. App.  289, 883 Dear Mr. Eskelund: This is in response to your letter dated May 20, 1994, regarding the documentation endorsement applicable to your vessel. Our ruling on this matter is set forth below. FACTS: You state that you purchased a 25' motor boat for the purpose of transporting yourself in your capacity as a marine engine mechanic and your equipment to various work sites around the San Francisco Bay region. The vessel was documented by its previous owner for both fisheries and recreational use. You further state that the vessel will not be use to carry passengers or cargo for hire, nor will it be used to operate a towing service. ISSUE: Whether the use of a vessel in transporting a marine engine mechanic and his equipment to various work sites around the San Francisco Bay region constitutes a use in the coastwise trade within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. App.  289 or 883 so that its certificate of documentation must be endorsed for the coastwise trade pursuant to 46 U.S.C.  12106. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Title 46, United States Code Appendix,  289 (46 U.S.C. App.  289, the passenger coastwise law), prohibits the transportation of passengers between points embraced within the coastwise laws of the United States, either directly or by way of a foreign port, in a non-coastwise-qualified vessel (i.e., any vessel not built in and documented under the laws of the United States and - 2 - owned by persons who are citizens of the United States). For purposes of  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)) Title 46, United States Code Appendix,  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). Pursuant to 19 U.S.C.  1401(c), the word "merchandise" is defined, in pertinent part, as meaning "...goods, wares, and chattels of every description..." Points embraced within the coastwise laws include all points within the territorial waters of the United States, including points within a harbor. The territorial waters of the United States consist of 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 proposed use of the subject vessel, it is clear that you as the owner of the vessel would not be a passenger within the meaning of  4.50(b), Customs Regulations discussed above. Consequently, the vessel would not be used in the coastwise trade as contemplated by 46 U.S.C. App.  289. However, the transportation of your equipment, considered "merchandise" as defined in 19 U.S.C.  1401(c), would constitute a use in the coastwise trade for purposes of 46 U.S.C. App.  883. Accordingly, the vessel's certificate of documentation must be endorsed for the coastwise trade pursuant to 46 U.S.C.  12106 in order to lawfully engage in the activity described above.  - 3 - HOLDING: The use of a vessel in transporting the equipment of a marine engine mechanic to various work sites around the San Francisco Bay region constitutes a use in the coastwise trade within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. App.  883 so that its certificate of documentation must have a coastwise endorsement pursuant to 46 U.S.C.  12106. Sincerely, Arthur P. Schifflin Chief Carrier Rulings Branch