HQ 0111759 - Coastwise; Merchandise; Towing; Marshall Islands; 46 U.S.C. App. 883; 46 U.S.C. App. 316. - United States International Trade Commision Rulings

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HQ 111759

August 12, 1991

VES-3 CO:R:IT:C 111759 JBW

CATEGORY: CARRIER

Mr. Gary D. Smith
10419 N.E. 32nd Place
Suite E-304
Bellevue, Washington 98004

RE: Coastwise; Merchandise; Towing; Marshall Islands; 46 U.S.C. App. 883; 46 U.S.C. App. 316.

Dear Mr. Smith:

This letter is in response to your inquiry, mailed June 11, 1991, in which you request a ruling on the application of the coastwise laws to shipping activities in the Marshall Islands.

FACTS:

In your letter, you state that you will bid on a project that will take place in the Marshall Islands, Kwajalein Atoll. The work may involve the use of tugs, barges, and supply vessels.

ISSUE:

Whether the coastwise laws apply to the Marshall Islands.

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 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.

Application of United States law to the Republic of the Marshall Islands is governed by Article VII of the Compact of Free Association between the United States and the governments of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia ("Compact"), as approved in the Compact of Free Association Act of 1985. Codified at 48 U.S.C.A. 1681 note (1987). Pursuant to section 171 of the Compact:

Except as provided in this Compact or its related agreements, the application of the laws of the United States to the Trust
Territory of Pacific Islands by virtue of the Trusteeship Agreement ceases with respect to the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia as of the effective date of this Compact.

The Compact makes no provision for the application of the coastwise laws, including the coastwise towing statute, to the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Furthermore, we are aware of no agreement extending the coastwise laws of the United States to the parties to the Compact. By Presidential Proclamation, the President of the United States declared that, as of October 21, 1986, the Republic of the Marshall Islands are "self-governing and no longer subject to the Trusteeship and that the Compact of Free Association is in effect. Proc. No. 5564, 51 Fed. Reg. 40399 (1986). Accordingly, the coastwise laws are not applicable to the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Headquarters Ruling Letter 110657, dated February 14, 1990.

HOLDING:

The coastwise laws are not applicable to the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Sincerely,

B. James Fritz
Chief

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