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HQ 113442




July 8, 1995

VES-3-R:IT:C 113442 LLB

CATEGORY: CARRIER

Mr. David W. Hoitt
Fleet Captain, Las Carabelas
1900 North Chaparral
Corpus Christi, Texas 78401

RE: Passenger transportation; Columbus fleet replica sailing vessel; 46 U.S.C. App. 289

Dear Mr. Hiott:

Reference is made to your letter of April 25, 1995, which was sent to the Customs Port Director, Corpus Christi, Texas. Your letter, which has been forwarded to this office for response, requests that Customs rule upon the use of your vessels for passenger cruises originating in the Port of Corpus Christi.

FACTS:

The Columbus Fleet consists of three replica sailing vessels, the NINA, PINTA, and SANTA MARIA. All three vessels are owned by the Government of Spain and are documented under the laws of that country. The immediate plan is to utilize the vessel NINA for taking members of the public for short cruises. It is stated that there will be no dining or dancing facilities aboard the vessel, and that it is not intended that sightseeing or harbor cruises be conducted. The ruling request letter does not provide specifics regarding the planned itinerary for a representative voyage, however, accompanying correspondence and telephonic information from Customs officials in Corpus Christi indicates that the voyages will be confined to the limits of the Port of Corpus Christi, never venturing beyond the territorial waters of the United States. We assume for the purposes of this ruling that the vessel would embark and disembark its passengers at the same coastwise point.

ISSUE:

Whether a foreign-owned and documented vessel may legally transport passengers solely within the territorial waters of the United States when departing from and returning to the same coastwise point.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The Act of June 19, 1886, as amended (24 Stat. 81; 46 U.S.C. App. § 289, sometimes called the coastwise passenger law), provides that:

No foreign vessel shall transport passengers between ports or places in the United States either directly or by way of a foreign port, under a penalty of $200 for each passenger so transported and landed.

For your general information, we have consistently interpreted this prohibition to apply to all vessels except United States-built, owned, and properly documented vessels (see 46 U.S.C. §§ 12106, 12110, 46 U.S.C. App. § 883, and 19 C.F.R. § 4.80).

In interpreting the coastwise laws as applied to the transportation of passengers, the Customs Service has ruled that the carriage of passengers entirely within territorial waters, even though the passengers disembark at their point of embarkation and the vessel touches no other point, is considered coastwise trade subject to the coastwise laws. However, the transportation of passengers to the high seas or foreign waters and back to the point of embarkation, assuming the passengers do not go ashore, even temporarily, at another United States point, and the vessel does not stop any place in United States waters, often called a "voyage to nowhere," is not considered coastwise trade. The territorial waters of the United States consist of the territorial sea, defined as the belt, three nautical miles wide, adjacent to the coast of the United States and seaward of the territorial sea baseline. In the location under consideration, the baseline would begin at the mouth of Corpus Christi Bay.

The first of these positions, regarding transportation of passengers entirely within territorial waters on a voyage in which they embark and disembark at the same coastwise point is based on a 1900 decision (Treasury Decision 22275). Our rulings have consistently followed this position.

The second of these positions, regarding transportation of passengers from a point in the United States to the high seas or foreign waters and back to the same point, is based on a 1912 opinion of the Attorney General of the United States (29 Opinions of the Attorney General 318). We have consistently followed this position as well.

On the basis of the foregoing interpretations by the Customs Service, vessels not qualified to engage in the coastwise trade may be operated on voyages to nowhere in which passengers are transported from a point in the United States to a point outside United States territorial waters and back to the point of the passengers' embarkation, assuming the vessel does not touch any other coastwise point. As stated above, this Customs interpretation is of long-standing duration and is based on an Opinion of the Attorney General of the United States. We are aware of no action by the Congress of the United States in all of the time this interpretation has existed indicating that our interpretation is contrary to the intent of the Congress in enacting the coastwise laws.

In summary, a non-coastwise-qualified vessel may engage in the carriage of passengers for hire on voyages which originate and terminate at the same coastwise point, so long as such voyages proceed beyond the territorial sea and no stops are made at other coastwise points (including any point within the territorial waters).

HOLDING:

Following a thorough consideration of the facts and analysis of the law and applicable precedents in this matter, we have determined that the proposed voyages would be in violation of United States law as codified at 46 U.S.C. App. 289. Such voyages would be permitted only if the vessel proceeded to international waters before returning to the point of embarkation to discharge passengers, and did not come to rest at any other coastwise point during any voyage.

Sincerely,

Arthur P. Schifflin
Chief

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