Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings July 11

July 12, 2023 by Ben Perkins|Customs Rulings

The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated July 11 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):

H330764: Coastwise Transportation; Outer Continental Shelf; Cable Laying; 46 U.S.C. §§ 55102 and 55103; 46 U.S.C. § 55109; 19 CFR §§ 4.80a and 4.80b

Ruling: (1) The transportation of export cables laden at a foreign port to a quayside point in a U.S. port by a non-coastwise qualified transport vessel does not constitute coastwise trade as contemplated by the Jones Act.(2) The lading of export cables at a U.S. port onto a non-coastwise-qualified cable lay vessel (CLV) and other ancillary operations do not constitute coastwise trade within the meaning of the Jones Act. (3) The use of a jet plow to create a path along the seabed while simultaneously placing export cable does not constitute “dredging” as contemplated by the dredging statute. (4) The transportation of CLV crew members directly connected with the laying of submarine electric transmission cables would not be in violation of the Passenger Vessel Services Act.

Issues: (1) Does the transportation of export cables laden at a foreign port to a quayside point in a U.S. port by a non-coastwise-qualified transport vessel violate the Jones Act? (2) Does the lading of export cables at a U.S. port onto a non-coastwise-qualified cable lay vessel (CLV) and other ancillary operations violate the Jones Act? (3) Does the use of a jet plow, remote operating vehicle jetting tool, or controlled flow excavation (CFE) tool tool to lay export cable violate the dredging statute? (4) Does the transportation of crewmembers aboard the non-coastwise-qualified CLV violate the Passenger Vessel Services Act?

Items: N/A

Reason: (1) A foreign port is not a coastwise point. (2) The protective concrete mattresses, rock, and cable protection systems will be laded at a foreign port. (3) The subject cable-burial device employs a jetting action that would emulsify the soil of the seabed, creating a trench where cable will be installed, creating a slot trench which closes immediately following the jetting plow’s passage. Such activity does not constitute “dredging.” (4) Crewmembers will perform functions directly connected to the operation or navigation of the subject vessels; they are not passengers.

Ruling Date: April 12. 2023