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

HQ H032860 July 9, 2008 VES-3-02-OT:RR:BSTC:CCI H032860 CATEGORY: Carriers Mr. Adam Young Norton Lilly 952 Houston Northcutt, Blvd., Suite 100 Mount Pleasant, S.C. 29464 RE: Coastwise Transportation; 46 U.S.C. § 55103; 19 C.F.R. § 4.50(b) Dear Mr. Young: This letter is in response to your correspondence dated July 9, 2008, in which you request a ruling on whether the coastwise transportation of the individuals mentioned therein aboard the CHARLESTON EXPRESS constitutes a violation of 46 U.S.C. § 55103. Our ruling on your request follows. FACTS: The voyage in question involves the transportation of three individuals aboard the non-coastwise-qualified CHARLESTON EXPRESS ("the vessel"). The three individuals would embark on July 10, 2008 at Charleston, SC, travel to Miami, FL and Houston, TX before returning to, and disembarking at the port of Charleston, SC on July 20, 2008. The individuals will travel aboard the vessel to repair the ship’s elevators. ISSUE: Whether the individuals described above would be transported between two coastwise ports within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. § 55103? LAW AND ANALYSIS: The coastwise passenger statute, former 46 U.S.C. App. § 289 recodified as 46 U.S.C. § 55103, pursuant to P.L. 109-304 (October 6, 2006), states that no foreign vessel shall transport passengers "between ports or places in the United States to which the coastwise laws apply, either directly or by way of a foreign port," under a penalty of $300 for each passenger so transported and landed. See also 19 C.F.R. § 4.80(b)(2). The coastwise laws generally apply to points in the territorial sea, which is 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. The three individuals will embark and disembark at the port of Charleston, SC and will not leave the vessel while it travels to Miami, FL and Houston, TX. The itinerary described above, wherein the three individuals will embark and subsequently disembark in Charleston SC, after riding the vessel to Miami, FL and Houston, TX is not a coastwise voyage as defined in 46 U.S.C. § 55103. Because there is no coastwise transportation involved in this case, we do not reach the question of whether the three individuals at issue are “passengers” under 46 U.S.C. § 55103, wherein, a "passenger" is any person carried aboard a vessel "who is not connected with the operation of the vessel, her navigation, ownership, or business." See also 19 C.F.R. § 4.50(b). HOLDING: The subject individuals are not being transported between two coastwise ports within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. § 55103. Therefore, the transportation of such individuals is not in violation of 46 U.S.C. § 55103. Sincerely, Glen E. Vereb, Chief Cargo Security, Carriers and Immigration Branch