Jones act and six pack

[GordMay]

MARAD SMALL VESSEL WAIVER
REQUEST FOR ADMINISTRATIVE WAIVER OF THE JONES ACT 46 U.S.C. 12121, 46 C.FR 388

➥ https://uscgdocumentation.us/nvdc/ma...vessel-waiver/

THERE ARE SOME BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR A VESSEL TO QUALIFY FOR A WAIVER UNDER THIS PROGRAM

A) THE VESSEL MUST BE AT LEAST THREE YEARS OLD.
B) THE VESSEL, WHEN IN SERVICE, CANNOT CARRY MORE THAN 12 PASSENGERS
C) THE INTENDED USE MUST BE TO CARRY PASSENGERS ONLY. ACTIVITIES SUCH AS CARRIAGE OF CARGO, COMMERCIAL FISHING, TOWING, DREDGING AND SALVAGE DO NOT QUALIFY FOR THIS PROGRAM. SPORT FISHING IS PERMITTED AS LONG AS THE FISH CAUGHT ARE NOT SOLD COMMERCIALLY.
D) THE VESSEL MUST BE OWNED BY A U.S.-CITIZEN.

THIS IS NOT A WAIVER OF ANY VESSEL DOCUMENTATION, VESSEL MANNING OR VESSEL INSPECTION REQUIREMENT. ONCE A WAIVER IS RECEIVED, THE APPLICANT SHOULD FILE FOR A COAST-WISE TRADE ENDORSEMENT AS A PASSENGER VESSEL WITH THE U.S. COAST GUARD (USCG) IF THE VESSEL IS GREATER THAN 5 NET TONS.

[jmschmidt]

Yes, the Jones Act inspectors even got Captain Zodiac on Kauai, Hawaii with his Napali Coast inflatable tourist cruises. Legend has it that he took to hiring a guy with a heat gun to melt all the seams on his French-built inflatables and then glue them back together, following which he was successfully making the claim that more that 50% of the value of each boat was US labor and materials. When Zodiac built a plant in the US to supply the US military he bought a few boats out of that plant that were 100% US built.

[Boater3]

Has anything changed with this? What if I buy a nice boat, only can use it a few weeks a year, and want to "rent" it out or "charter" it out (I would never allow someone to take it without a captain).

[jmschmidt]

If that "nice boat" you want to buy for limited personal use is foreign built you still have to jump through all the Jones Act hoops which GordMay and I posted if you intend to rent or charter it. Bareboat or captained does not make a difference.

Again, bareboat or captained, you may also have an insurance problem if it is known that you are illegally operating a foreign built vessel in US commerce.

[SailingHarmonie]

As far as I know there are not any "Jones Act Inspectors" out there looking for illegal boats, but if you are in the local charter business, you can be sure you have competitors who would not be above making a call to the Coast Guard pointing out the illegal operations happening nearby.

This procedure for exemptions is WAY easier than it used to be. 30 years ago the only way to get an exemption from the Jones act for a non-USA built boat was literally an act of congress. My last boat had such an exemption a previous owner had obtained to use the boat for charter service. It was a minor amendment to a budget bill that his congressman had inserted as part of his constituent service.

[Drunkonwatch]

It will be the insurance not the feds that nails you on this one.

[jmschmidt]

Sorry Sailing Harmonie but I have read in the news that the USCG has been arresting wanabe charter operators and boat owners doing Airbnb type rentals with any old boat they can find.