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

HQ H057396 April 14, 2009 VES-3-02-OT:RR:BSTC:CCI H057396 JLB CATEGORY: Carriers Mr. Alan Miciano General Steamship Corporation 5901 Christie Avenue, Suite 305 Emeryville, California 94608-1930 RE: Coastwise Transportation; 46 U.S.C. § 55103; 19 C.F.R. § 4.50(b) Dear Mr. Miciano: This letter is in response to your correspondence dated April 10, 2009, in which you request a ruling on whether the coastwise transportation of the individual mentioned therein aboard the M/T BUM YOUNG 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 M/T BUM YOUNG (“the vessel”). The individual will embark on April 15, 2009 at San Francisco, California and will be disembarking at Vancouver, Washington on or about April 18, 2009. The individual is the fiancé of the vessel’s third mate. ISSUE Whether the individual described above would be a “passenger” within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. § 55103 and 19 C.F.R. § 4.50(b)? 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. Under 46 U.S.C. § 55103, 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). In this regard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) provides a strict interpretation of “passenger” defining the term as persons transported on a vessel unless they are "directly and substantially" connected with the operation, navigation, ownership or business of that vessel itself. See Customs Bulletin of June 5, 2002, Vol. 36, No. 23, at p. 50. It is CBP’s longstanding position that the spouse and children of officers of a vessel are not passengers for purposes of the passenger coastwise statute. See General Letter No. 117 (May 20, 1916) from the former Bureau of Navigation. Such a position only extends to the spouse and children of the officers of the vessel and of the company that owns the vessel, as well as immediate family members of the owner. Accordingly, the fiancé of the vessel’s third mate would be considered a “passenger” within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. § 55103 and 19 C.F.R. § 4.50(b). Therefore, the coastwise transportation of the individual would be in violation of 46 U.S.C. § 55103. HOLDING The subject individual is a “passenger” within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. § 55103 and 19 C.F.R. § 4.50(b). Therefore, the coastwise transportation of such an individual is in violation of 46 U.S.C. § 55103. Sincerely, Glen E. Vereb, Chief Cargo Security, Carriers and Immigration Branch