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HQ H007256

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February 26, 2007

VES-3-02-RR:BSTC:CCI H007256 LLB

CATEGORY: CARRIER

Ms. Nora Pasca
Norton Lilly International
249 East Ocean Boulevard, Suite 200
Long Beach, California 90802

RE: Coastwise Transportation; 46 U.S.C. § 55103; 19 C.F.R. § 4.50(b)

Dear Ms. Pasca:

This letter is in response to your correspondence of February 21, 2007, in which you inquire about the coastwise transportation of the three individuals mentioned therein aboard the M/V APL CHINA. Our decision follows.

FACTS

The voyage in question involves the transportation of the subject individuals aboard the non-coastwise-qualified M/V APL CHINA (the “vessel”) who will embark in Los Angeles, California on February 27, 2007 and disembark in Oakland, California on February 28, 2007. The subject individuals are the wife and children of the vessel’s chief engineering officer.

ISSUE

Whether the individuals are “passengers” within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. § 55103 and 19 C.F.R. § 4.50(b)

LAW AND ANALYSIS

The coastwise passenger statute, 46 U.S.C. § 55103 (recodified from former 46 U.S.C. App. § 289; Pub. L. 109-304, October 6, 2006), provides that no vessel may transport passengers between ports or places in the United States either directly or by way of a foreign port, upon a penalty of $300 for every passenger so transported and landed, unless it:

(1) is wholly owned by citizens of the United States for purposes of engaging in the coastwise trade; and
(2) has been issued a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement under chapter 121 of Title 46, United States Code, or is exempt from documentation but would otherwise be eligible for such a certificate and endorsement.

Under the regulations promulgated under the authority of 19 U.S.C. § 55103, a “passenger” is defined as it is under 19 C.F.R. § 4.50(b), which provides that a passenger is “any person carried aboard a vessel who is not connected with the operation of such vessel, her navigation, ownership, or business.” See 19 C.F.R. § 4.80a(a)(5). In this regard, persons transported on a vessel would be passengers unless they were “directly and substantially” connected with the operation, navigation, ownership, or business of that vessel itself. See Cust. Bull., Vol. 36, No. 23, p. 50 (June 5, 2002).

However, we note that the above notice also repeated the long-held CBP position that in accordance with General Letter No. 117 of May 20, 1916, from the former Bureau of Navigation, wives and children of the officers of a vessel are not passengers since they are connected to the ownership and business of the vessel. A chief engineering officer qualifies as an “officer of the vessel”; therefore, the spouse and children of a chief engineering officer may be aboard a non-coastwise qualified vessel during a coastwise voyage and are not “passengers” for purposes of administering 46 U.S.C. § 55103.

HOLDING

Immediate family members (i.e., a spouse and children) of officers of the vessel are not “passengers” within the meaning of 46 U.S.C. § 55103 and 19 C.F.R. § 4.50(b). Therefore, the coastwise transportation of such individuals on a non-coastwise-qualified vessel is not in violation of 46 U.S.C. § 55103.

Sincerely,

Glen E. Vereb
Chief

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