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HQ 113483

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July 27, 1995

VES-3-R:IT:C 113483 LLB

CATEGORY: CARRIER

Mr. Michael T. Moore
Holland and Knight
701 Brickell Avenue
P.O. Box 015441
Miami, Florida 33131

RE: Coastwise trade; Pleasure vessel; Moored vessel; 46 U.S.C. App. 289 and 883

Dear Mr. Moore:

Reference is made to your letter of June 23, 1995, which was received via facsimile transmission. Your letter requests that Customs rule upon the proposed use of a large pleasure vessel in the making of a motion picture. The particular question concerns whether the use of the vessel as outlined in this ruling might constitute an engagement in coastwise trade, which trade is reserved for qualified vessels under United States law.

FACTS:

It is proposed that a large pleasure vessel be utilized in the course of filming a major motion picture. It is anticipated that the vessel in question, which may be foreign-owned, documented, or otherwise unqualified for service in the coastwise trade, be used during certain filming sequences. It is stated that while in use the vessel would at all times be moored and remain stationary. Actors would be filmed boarding and leaving the vessel, but all scenes purporting to take place below decks would actually be filmed in a land-based set simulating the interior of the vessel. The proposed site for film sequences would be beneath the bridge leading to Dodge Island in the Port of Miami, Florida.

ISSUE:

Whether the use of a moored vessel may be construed as a use in the coastwise trade of the United States.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Generally, the laws referred to as the coastwise laws (e.g., 46 U.S.C. App. 289 and 883, and 46 U.S.C. 12106, and 12110) prohibit the transportation of merchandise or passengers between points in the United States embraced within the coastwise laws by any vessel other than a vessel built in, properly documented under the laws of, and owned by citizens of the United States (i.e., a coastwise-qualified vessel). Points embraced within the coastwise laws include all points within the territorial and navigable waters of the United States. United States territorial waters consist of the territorial sea, defined as the belt, 3 nautical miles wide, adjacent to the coast of the United States and seaward of the territorial sea baseline.

The key, of course, is the provision of transportation between coastwise points. Customs has had occasion to rule on the use of moored vessels for various purposes. Here, as in the past, so long as the vessel remains in a stationary position there are no coastwise trade implications to its use since no transportation is provided.

It is not clear whether the vessel is to be moored dockside, or out in the harbor under the Dodge Island bridge, or otherwise. Please be advised that although the vessel itself will not be in use in the coastwise trade, if it is necessary to transport persons or merchandise to the pleasure vessel via boat from a coastwise point, the transporting vessel must be coastwise-qualified. This is because the pleasure vessel itself would be considered a coastwise point by virtue of its location within territorial waters.

HOLDING:

The use of a non-coastwise-qualified pleasure vessel which is moored within the Port of Miami, Florida, for the purpose of providing a motion picture filming site, is not prohibited under the coastwise laws administered by the U.S. Customs Service so long as it at all relevant times remains stationary and does not transport persons or merchandise.

Sincerely,

Arthur P. Schifflin

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