Coastwise Transportation; 46 U.S.C. § 55103

HQ H053961 March 12, 2009 VES-3-02-OT:RR:BSTC:CCI H053961 JLB CATEGORY: Carriers Mr. Kubilay Ulucan GAC-RUR Shipping (USA) Inc. 1 International Plaza, Suite 250 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19113 RE: Coastwise Transportation; 46 U.S.C. § 55103 Dear Mr. Ulucan: This letter is in response to your correspondence dated March 11, 2009, in which you request a ruling on whether the coastwise transportation of the individual mentioned therein aboard the INDEPENDENT ACCORD constitutes a violation of 46 U.S.C. § 55103. Our ruling on your request follows. FACTS The voyage in question involves the transportation of the subject individual aboard the non-coastwise-qualified INDEPENDENT ACCORD (“the vessel”). The individual will embark on April 6, 2009 at Chester, Pennsylvania and will be staying aboard the vessel at Wilmington, North Carolina before disembarking in Antwerp, Belgium. ISSUE Whether the use of a non-coastwise-qualified vessel in the voyage described above constitutes an engagement in the coastwise trade in violation 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. In the present case, the coastwise passenger statute is inapplicable to the subject individual’s voyage. In Headquarters Decision H016892, dated September 12, 2007, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) held that individuals embarking at a U.S. port and disembarking at a foreign port were not in violation of the coastwise laws since their transportation does not involve disembarkation at a coastwise port. Based on the facts presented, the subject individual will embark at Chester, Pennsylvania, a U.S. port, and will be disembarking at the port of Antwerp, Belgium, a foreign port. Consequently, the individual will not be in violation of the coastwise statutes insofar as her transportation does not involve disembarkation at a coastwise port. HOLDING The use of a non-coastwise-qualified vessel in the voyage described above does not constitute an engagement in the coastwise trade in violation of 46 U.S.C. § 55103. Sincerely, Glen E. Vereb, Chief Cargo Security, Carriers and Immigration Branch