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HQ 111329

December 5, 1990

VES-3-15/VES-5-05 111329 RAH

CATEGORY: CARRIER

Deputy Assistant Regional Commissioner
Commercial Operations Division
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130

RE: Entry; Vessel; Oil Rig; 19 C.F.R. 4.3; OCS.

Dear Sir:

This is in response to your memorandum of September 26, 1990, regarding the requirement of oil exploration or production vessels to make entry as described in 19 C.F.R. 4.3.

You ask whether oil exploration or production rigs which are classified as vessels are required to make entry when first "attached" to the outer Continental Shelf, outside the territorial waters of the United States.

Section 4(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953, as amended (67 Stat. 462; 43 U.S.C. 1333(a)) (OCSLA), provides, in pertinent part, that the laws of the United States are extended to:

...the subsoil and seabed of the outer
Continental Shelf and to all artificial islands, and all installations and other devices permanently or temporarily attached to the seabed, which may be erected thereon for the purpose of exploring for, developing, or producing resources therefrom ... to the same extent as if the outer Continental
Shelf were an area of exclusive Federal jurisdiction located within a State.

Under this provision, Customs has ruled that the coastwise laws and other Customs and navigation laws are extended to mobile oil drilling rigs during the period they are secured to or submerged onto the seabed of the United States outer Continental Shelf. The same principles have been applied to drilling platforms, artificial islands, and similar structures attached to the seabed of the outer Continental Shelf for the purpose of resource exploration operations, including warehouse vessels anchored over the OCS when used to supply drilling rigs on the outer Continental Shelf. Customs Ruling Letter 110228 (7-14-89).

The requirement for formal entry of vessels is set out in 19 U.S.C. 1434, 1435. Section 1434 provides that the master of a vessel of the United States must make entry within 48 hours after arrival within the United Stated from a foreign port or place. Section 1435 provides that a foreign vessel must make entry within 48 hours after arrival within the limits of any Customs collection district. See also, 19 CFR 4.3.

It has long been Customs position that drilling vessels are not subject to the vessel entrance and clearance requirements at the time they initially "attach" to the outer Continental Shelf. Customs Letter 107852 PH (10-22-85). In Customs Memorandum 100136 ML (8-16-76) we held that there is no authority to require the entry from or clearance to, foreign ports of offshore drilling rigs which come to rest at a geographical point on the high seas [outside the territorial waters of the United States] over the outer Continental Shelf for the purpose of exploring for or exploiting its natural resources. However, once such offshore drilling rig is secured for drilling operations, or otherwise engaged in oil drilling activities on the outer Continental Shelf, the Customs and navigation laws, including the entry and clearance requirements are fully applicable for the duration of such operations. Customs Memorandum 100136 ML (8-16-76).

In other words, an offshore drilling rig which arrives at, and subsequently departs from, a point on the high seas over the outer Continental Shelf is not deemed to have arrived at or departed from a point within United States jurisdiction to which the entry and clearance requirements would apply. On the other hand, once the drilling rig becomes attached to the outer Continental Shelf as described above, it is considered a "fixed structure" and, as such, the movement of vessels to and from such point involves the application of the entry and clearance requirements. Customs Memorandum 100136 ML (8-16-76). Although you specifically asked about entry requirements outside the United States territorial waters, please be aware that if the drilling activities are to be conducted in whole or in part within territorial waters, it may be necessary to enter and clear the rigs (which includes the permit to proceed procedure) at the drilling sites. Customs Letter 101799 ML (11-04-75).

Secondly, you ask if there are any reporting requirements for arrival or movement outside the three mile limit, provided each such stop includes "attachment" to the United States outer Continental Shelf.

The movement of a drilling rig to a point (including a drilling location on the United States outer Continental Shelf beyond United States territorial water) within United States jurisdiction from a point outside United States jurisdiction subjects the rig to varying requirements of the navigation laws under certain circumstances. If such movement originates from a foreign port or place and the rig arrives at a point within United states territorial waters, the master would be required to report arrival at the nearest customhouse immediately and make entry within 48 hours regardless of the rig's documentation. If such movement originates from a point on the high seas and the rig arrives at a point within the United States territorial waters, the master of a rig would be required to make entry at the nearest customhouse. Finally, any such movement, regardless of whether it originated at a foreign port or on the high seas and regardless of the rig's documentation, to a point beyond United States territorial waters would not require report of arrival or entry provided the "point" was merely geographical and not a fixed structure erected on the Shelf as described above. Customs Letter 101799 ML (11-4-75).

If you have any further questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Sincerely,

B. James Fritz
Chief

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