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

HQ H061255 May 19, 2009 VES-3-02-OT:RR:BSTC:CCI H061255 JLB CATEGORY: Carriers Mr. Gary Parr John S. Connor, Inc. 799 Cromwell Park Drive Suite A-G Glen Burnie, Maryland 21061 RE: Coastwise Transportation; 46 U.S.C. § 55103; 19 C.F.R. § 4.50(b) Dear Mr. Parr: This letter is in response to your correspondence dated May 19, 2009, in which you request a ruling on whether the coastwise transportation of the individual mentioned therein aboard the M/V PLEASANT SKY 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/V PLEASANT SKY (“the vessel”). The individual will embark on May 21, 2009 at Bristol, Pennsylvania and will be disembarking at Camden, New Jersey on or about May 28, 2009. The individual is the master’s wife. 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. In Headquarters Ruling Letter H012513, dated June 11, 2007, we held that the master qualifies as an "officer of the vessel"; therefore, his spouse may be aboard a non-coastwise-qualified vessel during a coastwise voyage and is not a "passenger" under 46 U.S.C. § 55103 and 19 C.F.R. § 4.50(b). See also Headquarters Ruling Letter H057655, dated April 20, 2009; Headquarters Ruling Letter H031468, dated June 23, 2008. Consequently, the coastwise transportation of the subject individual is not in violation of 46 U.S.C. § 55103. HOLDING The subject individual is not 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 not in violation of 46 U.S.C. § 55103. Sincerely, Glen E. Vereb, Chief Cargo Security, Carriers and Immigration Branch