Coastwise Trade; Passengers; Cruise; 46 U.S.C. App.  289

HQ 113552 September 1, 1995 VES-3-R:IT:C 113552 GEV CATEGORY: Carriers Paul V. Ackerman Chief, Division of Domestic Shipping Maritime Administration U.S. Department of Transportation 400 Seventh Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20590 RE: Coastwise Trade; Passengers; Cruise; 46 U.S.C. App.  289 Dear Mr. Ackerman: This is in response to your letter of August 24, 1995, to Glen Vereb of my staff, requesting an advisory ruling with respect to our interpretation of 46 U.S.C.  289 in regard to a proposed voyage by a non-coastwise-qualified vessel. The ruling you seek is set forth below. FACTS: You state that the voyage in question is one where the vessel embarks passengers in Seattle, Washington, stopping temporarily in Anchorage, Alaska, and disembarks the passengers at the point of origination (Seattle). We assume the passengers under this itinerary actually get off the vessel at Anchorage, albeit for a short period of time. ISSUE: Whether the use of a non-coastwise-qualified vessel for a cruise that embarks passengers in Seattle, proceeds to Anchorage for a temporary stop, and disembarks the passengers in Seattle is violative of 46 U.S.C. App.  289. LAW AND ANALYSIS: The Act of June 19, 1886, as amended (24 Stat. 81; 46 U.S.C. App.  289, sometimes called the coastwise passenger law), provides that: - 2 - No foreign vessel shall transport passengers between ports or places in the United States either directly or by way of a foreign port, under a penalty of $200 for each passenger so transported and landed. Customs has consistently interpreted the above prohibition to apply to all vessels except United States-built, owned, and properly documented vessels (see 46 U.S.C.  12106, 12110; 46 U.S.C. App.  883). The Customs Regulations promulgated pursuant to 46 U.S.C.  289 are found at 19 CFR  4.80a. Specifically,  4.80a(b)(1) provides that a coastwise violation occurs if a passenger is on a voyage solely to one or more coastwise ports and the passenger disembarks or goes ashore temporarily at a coastwise port. It should also be noted that in its administration of 46 U.S.C. App.  289, the Customs Service has ruled that the carriage of passengers entirely within territorial waters, even though the passengers disembark at their point of embarkation and the vessel touches no other coastwise point, is considered coastwise trade subject to the coastwise laws. However, the transportation of passengers to the high seas (i.e., beyond U.S. territorial waters) and back to the point of embarkation, assuming the passengers do not go ashore, even temporarily, at another United States point, often called a "voyage to nowhere", is not considered coastwise trade (29 O.A.G. 318 (1912)). In interpreting the coastwise laws, Customs has ruled that a point in United States territorial waters is a point in the United States embraced within the coastwise laws. The territorial waters of the United States consist of the territorial sea, defined as the belt, 3 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 cruise itinerary, it does not meet the criteria of a "voyage-to-nowhere" since it includes a stop, albeit temporary, at another coastwise point (Anchorage). Furthermore, since the passengers will embark and disembark at the same coastwise port (Seattle) with an intervening stop at another coastwise port (Anchorage), pursuant to 19 CFR  4.80a(b)(1) there would be a violation of 46 U.S.C. App. 289 with regard to the use of a non-coastwise-qualified vessel on this particular cruise itinerary.  - 3 - HOLDING: The use of a non-coastwise-qualified vessel for a cruise that embarks passengers in Seattle, proceeds to Anchorage for a temporary stop, and disembarks the passengers in Seattle is violative of 46 U.S.C. App.  289. Sincerely, Arthur P. Schifflin Chief Carrier Rulings Branch