Private charter in US.

[stevenit]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

The short answer is no. Even in the wild west of the BVI you need a Small Commercial Vessel Certificate ($600 a year), Radio Station License ($60) and a BVI masters ticket to carry passengers, which they will usually issue to you (for a fee) if you have a similar license issued by a major country.

You cannot operate a foreign flag vessel in US commerce. You cannot own a US flag vessel unless you are a United States citizen. A foreign built vessel cannot be used in US commerce, even by a US citizen, without a waiver from the US Maritime Administration (was $500). The operator must have at least a OUPV (6-pack) license and commercial insurance up the wasu for operation in and out of US ports and marinas.

I know we've all heard about Pres. Trump reducing regulations that are strangling businesses, and its true, but he hasn't gotten to the maritime industry yet.

"You cannot own a US flag vessel unless you are a United States citizen"

I know, but it is OT, that I can have flag Delaware flag on my vessel with few simple steps. I studied about it last year when, I changed my flag from Netherlands to UK.

But I understood the commercial law you have.

P. S. The strange thing is that the vessel (I suppose also a sailing vessel) must be manufactured in USA.

[ArmyDaveNY]

You may get a waiver for the vessel being built outside of the U.S.

https://www.maritime.dot.gov/ports/d...waiver-program

There are some restrictions such as inspections. For example, you may be limited to six passengers without an inspection by the U.S. Coast Guard if your vessel is under (I believe) 100 tons.

You also need to check to see if your engine is allowed to be used for commercial purposes. Some engines are allowed for recreational purposes but not commercial uses due to environmental regulations.

As others have mentioned, the vessel will still need to be U.S. flagged and owned by a U.S. individual or organization.

The short answer is that legally, you will likely not be able to do this.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by frozenhawaiian

jones act exemptions are also very, very rarely approved.

Ive been involved with getting waivers on a few boats, including my own with no problem. A lot depends on the venue(s) requested.

However, his bigger problem will be getting otherwise legal in the USA.

He could get a waiver and hire a USA captain.

The Coasties also expect USCG approved safety gear...I had to get rid of a bunch of perfectly good South African saftey gear.

[zstine]

The boat has to be made in the USA!? Wow, that's a new one for me. I have a friend w/ a 6-pack who has been doing charters for years on his Lagoon. US flag, US citizen, insured. But I'm 99% sure he doesn't have a waiver for the boat. I bet his insurance wouldn't cover him if they were smart enough to ask for his waiver in the event of an incident...?

[ArmyDaveNY]

Originally Posted by zstine

The boat has to be made in the USA!? Wow, that's a new one for me. I have a friend w/ a 6-pack who has been doing charters for years on his Lagoon. US flag, US citizen, insured. But I'm 99% sure he doesn't have a waiver for the boat. I bet his insurance wouldn't cover him if they were smart enough to ask for his waiver in the event of an incident...?

Yes, per the regulations the boat must be made in the U.S. HOWEVER one may get a waiter for a foreign made vessel. Check the link in post 17 that talks about what is required and what limitations are involved.

[ArmyDaveNY]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Ive been involved with getting waivers on a few boats, including my own with no problem. A lot depends on the venue(s) requested.

However, his bigger problem will be getting otherwise legal in the USA.

He could get a waiver and hire a USA captain.

The Coasties also expect USCG approved safety gear...I had to get rid of a bunch of perfectly good South African saftey gear.

Indeed he could get a U.S. licensed captain however he would still need to find a U.S. citizen or organization to take ownership of the vessel.

One can still keep foreign safety equipment but one must have U.S. certified safety equipment. A good example of this are Spinlock life preservers. They are not certified by the U.S. Coast Guard however you may have them in addition to live preservers that are certified by the U.S. It is sort of like expired flares. You may still keep them on the boat so long as you have three that are not expired.

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by stevenit

"You cannot own a US flag vessel unless you are a United States citizen"

I know, but it is OT, that I can have flag Delaware flag on my vessel with few simple steps. I studied about it last year when, I changed my flag from Netherlands to UK.

Registered in Deleware is not "US Flagged". You need to have the vessel documented with the USCG. Documenting a vessel with the USCG requires US Citizenship.

[CaptTom]

I thought the 6-pax (UPV) rules didn't require a Jones Act vessel. I know they don't require it to be US documented.

I suspect getting permits to stay and work in the US would be the hardest part. Second would be the US OUPV or Master's ticket. Doesn't seem it would be worth it for 6 months.

[jmschmidt]

What bullxxxx.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by stevenit

"You cannot own a US flag vessel unless you are a United States citizen"

I know, but it is OT, that I can have flag Delaware flag on my vessel with few simple steps. I studied about it last year when, I changed my flag from Netherlands to UK.

But I understood the commercial law you have.

P. S. The strange thing is that the vessel (I suppose also a sailing vessel) must be manufactured in USA.

Somewhat confusing but there are two very different ways to "register" a boat in the US.

The one most people are familiar with is correctly called documentation and is done with the US government by the US Coast Guard. To do this as an individual you have to be a US citizen. You can create a US corporation and that corporation can own the boat and then document the boat by a US corporation. However there are different opinions about this method. Some claim that the corporation must be owned more than 50% by a US citizen to legally document a boat. Other people argue that it doesn't matter who owns the corporation or where they are citizens. I know a number of citizens from other countries that own their boats with a Delaware corporation and document the boat but my reading of the USCG regulations I think this is not completely legal.

The second method is registration with a state. You can register a boat with any US state and as far as I know, none of them care if you are a citizen or not.

Regarding whether documented or state registered boats can do charters I will leave to others as I am not knowledgeable in that area. Even if this doesn't matter there is still the issue of the USCG captain's license which is legally necessary.