I read Jake DesVergers' interesting article titled "U.S. Customs Cruising Permit for Yachts." It was an informative article, but I wanted to take a moment and point something out.

Here on the West Coast, a “cruising permit” does not exist. The document is titled “United States Customs and Border Protection - Cruising License,” clearly labeled at the top of the document. I believe that the Cruising License issued by CBP on the East Coast and South Florida has the same terminology.

For some reason this document is being called a Cruising Permit, which is inaccurate and is leading to confusion amongst the foreign-flagged yachts that visit U.S. waters.

In the article, Jake refers to the document as a Cruising Permit consistently, except in the first C2C works with most large yachts that operate from Panama to Alaska. We deal with Cruising Licenses a lot along with all other regulatory issues such as pollution compliance, crew visas, pilotage, etc.

Some Captains think issuance of a Cruising License alleviates the need to do any sort of checking in with CBP as they move around. This is a false assumption and if a captain holding a Cruising License does not check in with CBP, there may be fines issued.

At the bottom of every cruising license is a note about reporting the "fact of arrival":

Fact of Arrival report while holding a valid Cruising License

• Any tonnage, any length foreign flag yacht that holds a CBP Cruising License
• Upon arrival at each port or place in the United States, the master shall report the “fact of arrival” to the designated CBP officer at the nearest port of entry
• The fact of arrival report must be made immediately upon arrival and is normally completed by telephone
• Contents of the fact of arrival report are specified by each CBP office and may differ from one port to the next

We provide clients information about clearing in and reporting. One change in that document, the tonnage requirement for pilotage in British Columbia, waters has been raised to 500 gt from 350 gt.

Capt. Mark Drewelow

C2C inc - San Diego

+1-619-972-8695

www.c2conline.net

Jake's reply: Yes, I agree with your statement on Permit vs. License. If the article was the basis for a legal explanation in lieu of general information, such semantics would be absolutely critical.

Luckily, I have never heard of nor witnessed any type of confusion by a yacht or Customs inspector when using either term, as you describe. The words are synonymous as Customs inspectors still interchange the title verbally and in correspondence at all U.S ports, east, west, Gulf, Caribbean, and Alaska coasts. The fact that Customs also issues a “Permit to Proceed” adds to the word choice. Perhaps we should require our government to be consistent? 

Mediterranean Version

If you take a megayacht to the Mediterranean, you know it must comply with European Union importation regulations, which is no different from a yacht coming to the United States. 

In the EU, there is a similar relief to the Florida Cruising Permit, and that is Temporary Importation Relief. This relief is available to yachts in private use by the owner and/or his immediate family. Article 558(a) of the 6th Directive states that the yacht must comply with the following:

• It must be registered in a Port of Registry situated outside the EU VAT area.
• It must be owned by a person or company situated in a jurisdiction outside the EU VAT area.
• It can only be used for the personal use of the principal and his immediate family. 

Article 562(c) of the 6th Directive allows privately used means of transport (i.e., yachts) to be used in EU waters (sea or inland waterways) for a period of 18 months; this can be extended to two years under certain circumstances, such as refits or repairs.

Therefore, like the U.S. Cruising Permit, the yacht cannot be used for third-party charters whilst under Temporary Importation Relief and must be formally imported. Failure to do so could result in cruising delays with EU Customs, the possibility of Value Added Tax (average tax being 20 percent) being charged on the charter fee and the market value of the yacht itself, with possible fines of up to 50 percent of the tax payable.

In previous years, many Mediterranean countries have chosen to ignore the EU Directive and allowed yachts to charter whilst under Temporary Importation Relief. However, pressure has been brought on these countries by northern EU countries through Brussels to enforce EU Directives correctly. 

These countries are also looking to all areas of taxation for more money, and the yachting industry is an easy target. No owner wants his yacht to be the first to be arrested and fined.

Capt. Bernard Charon works with Dominion Marine in the Isle of Man, which can assist yachts charter in EU waters without a change of flag or owning company. For more details, contact him at +1 954-444-3587.