Coast Guard terminates voyage of an illegal charter vessel in Long Beach

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 11th District PA Detachment LA/LB Contact: Coast Guard PA Detachment LA/LB Office: (310) 521-4260 After Hours: (310) 781-0619 PA Detachment LA/LB online newsroom

Coast Guard terminates voyage of an illegal charter vessel in Long Beach

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SAN PEDRO, Calif. — The Coast Guard terminated the voyage of an illegal charter vessel operating in the vicinity of Shoreline Marina in Long Beach, July 11, 2021.

A Coast Guard Station Los Angeles/Long Beach small boat crew boarded the 65-foot pleasure craft, The Godfather, with 26 passengers aboard and discovered the following violations:

• Violation of 46 C.F.R. 176.100 (a) for not having a valid Certificate of Inspection
• Violation of 46 C.F.R 15.805(a)(4) for not having Coast Guard licensed Captain
• Violation of 46 C.F.R. 67.323 for operating in coastwise trade without the appropriate Certificate of Documentation endorsement
• Violation of 46 C.F.R. 16.201 for failure to have a random drug testing program

Illegal charters are extremely dangerous to the public. Any captain operating a boat carrying paying passengers is required to hold a Coast Guard license and meet Coast Guard safety requirements. Captains are required to have their Merchant Mariner Credential on board at all times when paying passengers are on board. Passengers are urged by the Coast Guard to ask to see their captain's Merchant Mariner Credential. Additional Coast Guard requirements apply to captains taking more than six passengers on a trip. Ask your Captain if they are in compliance with Coast Guard regulations.

"The Coast Guard will aggressively pursue any operator who is putting their customers at risk by operating outside these critical safety requirements," said Lt. Cmdr. Braden Rostad, Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach's Investigations Division Chief. "We urge anyone paying for a trip on a passenger vessel to ask to see the vessel operator's Merchant Mariner Credential to verify they are properly licensed by the Coast Guard."

Owners and operators of illegal charter boats can face civil penalties for illegal charter operations. Some potential civil penalties for illegal charters are:

• Up to $4,888 for not having a valid Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection for vessels carrying more than six passengers as per 46 U.S.C. 3318(j)
• Up to $19,277 for failure to operate a passenger vessel without a Coast Guard license as per 46 U.S.C. 8101(g)
• Up to $16,687 for operating a coastwise trade without appropriate Certificate of Documentation endorsement as per 46 U.S.C. 12151(a)(1)
• Up to $7,846 for failure to have a random drug testing program as per 46 USC 2115

For additional recreational boating safety information, please visit the Coast Guard's Boating Safety Division (CG-BSX-2) at https://www.uscgboating.org.

Individuals with questions regarding passenger-for-hire regulations can contact the Sector LA/LB Investigations Division at (310) 521-3770 or email at SECLALB@uscg.mil.

Illegal charter operations can be reported to the Coast Guard Sector LA/LB Command Center at (310) 521-3801 or LALBCOMMANDCENTER@uscg.mil.

Alternatively, questions may be forwarded to Coast Guard District 11 Prevention, Inspections &
Investigations office by email to D11-SMB-DPI@uscg.mil.

 

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