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HQ 112520

November 20, 1992

VES-13-18-CO:R:IT:C 112520 GFM

CATEGORY: CARRIER

Mr. Peter A. Carter
Operations Manager
Biehl & Co., Inc.
5200 Holister
Houston TX 77040

RE: Coastwise; Waiver; 46 U.S.C. 883; Safety; National Defense; Monrovia; Liberia; War.

Dear Sir:

This is in response to your letter of November 17, 1992, in which you request a waiver of the coastwise laws on behalf of the non-coastwise qualified vessel, the M/V HARBEL CUTLASS.

FACTS:

You state that the subject vessel sailed from the port of Baltimore, Maryland, on November 19, 1992, with a cargo of eleven containers of general cargo and ten farm tractors bound for Monrovia, Liberia. However, you now state that civil unrest in that country threatens to jeopardize the safety of the vessel's cargo and crew. As a result, you now wish to unlade said cargo at the port of Houston, Texas, for storage until such time as conditions improve at the port of destination. Accordingly, you request a waiver of the coastwise laws to permit such a movement.

ISSUE:

May coastwise waivers be granted when perceived dangerous conditions at the port of destination threaten the safety of the cargo or crew of vessels bound for such destinations?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The coastwise law pertaining to the transportation of merchandise, section 27 of the Act of June 5, 1920, as amended (41 Stat. 999; 46 U.S.C. App. 883, often called the Jones Act), provides that:

No merchandise shall be transported by water, or by land and water, on penalty of forfeiture of the merchandise (or a monetary amount up to the value thereof as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, or the actual cost of the transportation, whichever is greater, to be recovered from any consignor, seller, owner, importer, consignee, agent, or other person or persons so transporting or causing said merchandise to be transported), between points in the United States...embraced within the coastwise laws, either directly or via a foreign port, or for any part of the transportation, in any other vessel 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...

The navigation laws (including the coastwise laws) can only be waived under the authority provided by the Act of December 27, 1950 (64 Stat. 1120; note preceding 46 U.S.C. App. 1). This statute provides that, "...[t]he head of each department or agency responsible for the administration of the navigation and vessel inspection laws is directed to waive compliance with such laws upon the request of the Secretary of Defense [and] [t]he head of such department or agency is authorized to waive compliance with such laws ... either upon his own initiative or upon the written recommendation of the head of any Government agency whenever he deems that such action is in the interest of national defense."

With regard to the case at hand, it is clear that the interest involved is not one of national defense, but one of private economic benefit. Accordingly, it is clear that a waiver of the coastwise laws cannot be granted.

We note, however, that no violation of the coastwise laws would occur if the goods are unladen at the original port of lading, or at a non-coastwise (foreign) point, for storage and eventual shipment to the port of destination, so long as, during that process, the goods are not unladen at a U.S. coastwise point.

HOLDING:

In accordance with the Law and Analysis portion of this ruling, the request for a waiver of the coastwise laws is denied.

Sincerely,


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