HQ 0111712 - Coastwise; Towing; Guam; 46 U.S.C. App. 316; 46 U.S.C. App. 877; 46 U.S.C. 12102. - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 111712

August 7, 1991

VES-3 CO:R:IT:C 111712 JBW

CATEGORY: CARRIER

Elizabeth Robertson, Esq.
Klemm, Blair, Sterling & Johnson
Suite 1008 Pacific News Building
238 Archbishop F. C. Flores Street
Agaa, Guam 96910

RE: Coastwise; Towing; Guam; 46 U.S.C. App. 316; 46 U.S.C. App. 877; 46 U.S.C. 12102.

Dear Ms. Robertson:

This letter is in response to your letter of May 10, 1991, in which you request a ruling regarding the applicability of the coastwise towing statue, 46 U.S.C. App. 316, to movements of United States-registered tugboats between coastwise points in Guam.

FACTS:

In your letter, you state that your client contemplates the operation of a foreign-built, United States-registered tugboat, owned by a United States citizen, between points within the territorial waters of Guam, specifically Commercial Port and Apra Harbor.

ISSUE:

Whether the operation of a foreign-built, Unites States- registered tugboat between points in Guam is a violation of the coastwise towing statute, 46 U.S.C. App. 316.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The coastwise laws of the United States prohibit the transportation of merchandise between points in the United States embraced within the coastwise laws, either directly or via a foreign port, in any vessel other than a vessel built in and documented under the laws of the United States and owned by persons who are citizens of the United States. 46 U.S.C.A. App. 883 (West Supp. 1991)(referred to as "the Jones Act"). Further, Section 316(a) of Title 46, United States Code Appendix, prohibits the use of a non-coastwise-qualified vessel to tow any vessel, other than a vessel in distress, between ports or places in the United States embraced within the coastwise laws, either directly or by way of a foreign port, or to do any part of such towing, or to tow any such vessel between points in a harbor of the United States. 46 U.S.C.A. App. 316(a) (West Supp. 1991). Generally, the coastwise and towing laws apply to points within the territorial sea of the United States, 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 cases where the baseline and the coastline differ. Headquarters Ruling Letter 111275, dated November 13, 1990.

Pursuant to Section 21 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, 46 U.S.C. App. 877, the coastwise laws, including the above- described statutes, are applicable to Guam. Under 46 U.S.C. 12105(b), however, a vessel for which a registry is issued by the United States Coast Guard may be employed in trade with Guam. Under that statute and 46 U.S.C. 12102, a foreign-built, United States-owned vessel may be issued a registry. In interpreting these statues, the Customs Service has ruled that foreign-built, United States-registered vessels may be used to transport merchandise or passengers between points in Guam as well as between United States coastwise points and Guam. Headquarters Ruling Letter 109455, dated August 4, 1988. Similarly, a foreign-built, United States-registered vessel could be used to tow another vessel between points in Guam as well as between United States coastwise points and Guam. Therefore, the subject vessel, which is foreign-built and United States-registered, may be operated as a tow between points in Guam.

HOLDING:

The coastwise towing statute, 46 U.S.C. 316, does not prohibit the operation of a foreign-built, Unites States registered and owned tugboat between points in Guam.

Sincerely,

B. James Fritz
Chief

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