Coastwise Transportation; 46 U.S.C. § 55103; 19 CFR 4.50(b)

HQ H007875 March 12, 2007 VES-3-02-RR:BSTC:CCI H007875 ALS CATEGORY: Carriers Mr. Benjamin F. Burgess Director Fleet Management APL Maritime, Ltd. 1111 Broadway Oakland, California 94607-5500 RE: Coastwise Transportation; 46 U.S.C. § 55103; 19 CFR 4.50(b) Dear Mr. Burgess: This letter is in response to your request of March 1, 2007, and subsequent email from your colleague dated March 12, 2007, in which you inquire about the coastwise transportation of an individual mentioned therein aboard the M/V PRESIDENT ADAMS. Our decision follows. FACTS: The voyage in question involves the transportation of the subject individual aboard the non-coastwise-qualified M/V PRESIDENT ADAMS (the “vessel”) who will embark in New York/New Jersey on or about March 14, 2007 and disembark in Charleston, South Carolina on or about March 19, 2007. The subject individual is the wife of the vessel’s First Assistant Engineer. ISSUE Whether the individual is a “passenger” within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. § 55103 and 19 CFR 4.50(b). LAW AND ANALYSIS The coastwise passenger statute, 46 U.S.C. § 55103 (recodified from former 46 U.S.C. App. § 289; Pub. L. 109-304, October 6, 2006), provides that no vessel may transport passengers between ports or places in the United States either directly or by way of a foreign port, upon a penalty of $300 for every passenger so transported and landed, unless it: (1) is wholly owned by citizens of the United States for purposes of engaging in the coastwise trade; and (2) has been issued a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement under chapter 121 of Title 46, United States Code, or is exempt from documentation but would otherwise be eligible for such a certificate and endorsement. Under the regulations promulgated under the authority of 19 U.S.C. § 55103, a “passenger” is defined as it is under 19 CFR 4.50(b), which provides that a passenger is “any person carried aboard a vessel who is not connected with the operation of such vessel, her navigation, ownership, or business.” See 19 CFR 4.80a(a)(5). In this regard, persons transported on a vessel would be passengers unless they were “directly and substantially” connected with the operation, navigation, ownership, or business of that vessel itself. See Cust. Bull., Vol. 36, No. 23, p. 50 (June 5, 2002). However, we note that the above notice also repeated the long-held CBP position that in accordance with General Letter No. 117 of May 20, 1916, from the former Bureau of Navigation, wives and children of the officers of a vessel are not passengers since they are connected to the ownership and business of the vessel. A First Assistant Engineer qualifies as an “officer of the vessel”; therefore, the spouse of a First Assistant Engineer may be transported aboard a non-coastwise qualified vessel during a coastwise voyage and is not a “passenger” for purposes of administering 46 U.S.C. § 55103. HOLDING The spouse of the First Assistant Engineer of the vessel is not a “passenger” within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. § 55103 and 19 CFR 4.50(b). Therefore, the coastwise transportation of such individual on a non-coastwise-qualified vessel is not in violation of 46 U.S.C. § 55103. Sincerely, Glen E. Vereb Chief Cargo Security, Carriers and Immigration Branch