Tugboats; Empty Barges; Vessel Entry; Vessel Clearance; 19 U.S.C. § 1434; 46 U.S.C. § 60105

HQ H016038 October 30, 2007 VES-5-29:OT:RR:BSTC:CCI H016038 ALS CATEGORY: Carriers Mr. Mike Bletsch Bletsch Steamship Company P.O. Box 1476 LaPorte, Texas 77572-1476 RE: Tugboats; Empty Barges; Vessel Entry; Vessel Clearance; 19 U.S.C. § 1434; 46 U.S.C. § 60105 Dear Mr. Bletsch: This letter is in response to your request of August 21, 2007, supplemented by your correspondence of October 23, 2007, seeking a ruling from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regarding the clearance requirements applicable to tugboats. Our ruling is set forth below. FACTS: You state that your company has a U.S.-flagged tugboat that tows two empty, U.S.-flagged deck barges from Frontera, Mexico to an offshore point in the Corpus Christi, Texas Seabuoy area, beyond U.S. territorial waters, where it meets a second U.S.-flagged tugboat to transfer towing of one of the barges. The second tugboat, which arrived at the offshore location from Corpus Christi, then tows the one barge to a dock in Corpus Christi. You concede that the other tugboat and both barges are subject to CBP’s vessel entry and clearance requirements. ISSUE: Whether the second tugboat, as described in the FACTS section above, is subject to CBP’s vessel entry and clearance requirements pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1434 and 46 U.S.C. § 60105, respectively. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Title 19, United States Code, § 1434(a)(4), provides in part, that formal entry of any vessel arriving at any port or place in the United States must be made for: (4) any vessel which has visited a hovering vessel or has delivered or received merchandise while outside the territorial sea; Title 46, United States Code, § 60105(a)(3), provides that any vessel of the United States shall obtain clearance from [CBP] before proceeding from a port or place in the United States— (3) outside the territorial sea to visit a hovering vessel or to receive merchandise while outside the territorial sea. The applicable CBP regulations promulgated pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1434(a)(4) and 46 U.S.C. § 60105(a)(3) are 19 CFR §§ 4.3(a)(4) and 4.60(a)(4), respectively. With respect to the factual scenario posed above, it is our position that a tug, merely by virtue of initiating the towing of another vessel from outside the U.S. territorial sea to a U.S. port, is not receiving merchandise within the meaning of the above-cited legal authority so as to render applicable the requirements to enter and clear. The mere towing by the tug, without it actually delivering and/or receiving merchandise (or unless the barge being towed is considered a “hovering vessel” as defined in 19 U.S.C. § 1401(k)), does not bring the tug within the purview of these statutes or the regulatory authority promulgated pursuant to them. See CBP Ruling HQ 115065 (July 3, 2000). HOLDING: Based on the facts presented, the second tugboat in question is not subject to CBP’s vessel entry and clearance requirements set forth in 19 U.S.C. § 1434 and 46 U.S.C. § 60105, respectively. Sincerely, Glen E. Vereb Chief Cargo Security, Carriers and Immigration Branch