N E W S
Illegal Charters
Unlicensed boats pose risks to passengers and businesses By Morgan Owen nlicensed charters sailing out of Marina del Rey have become a problem. Labor Day weekend it resurfaced after the U.S. Coast Guard and Marina del Rey Sheriff’s Department terminated the voyage of the Beirut, an illegally operating 58-foot pleasure craft. The Beirut, which had 15 passengers aboard, was operating without a licensed captain or a valid certificate of inspection, among other violations. The U.S. Coast Guard issued a port order for the Beirut to cease operations until the owners of the vessel remedy the violations. That did not stop the Beirut from being chartered again by 14 passengers that Sunday. Now, the owners and operators of the Beirut face additional civil penalties and a class D felony for violating the port order, punishable by up to six years in prison and a criminal fine of up to $250,000 per individual and $500,000 per organization.
LOCALS
PHOTO BY HUNTER SCHNABEL
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Coast Guard members terminate the voyage of an illegal charter vessel, the Beirut. “The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.”
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PAGE 8 THE ARGONAUT OCTOBER 6, 2022
What is required to operate a legal charter vessel? The federal government requires all charter vessels to register their boat with either the U.S. Coast Guard or the DMV. The registration process is expensive, costing upward of $10,000 and may take years to complete. Boats with more than six passengers must also be operated by a Coast Guard licensed captain, undergo yearly safety inspections and belong to a random drug testing consortium. Beyond that, charter vessels must also comply with state regulations. In California, that means obtaining a water taxi license and a water taxi operator’s business license. This process is equally lengthy and requires the charter to operate out of a commercial dock. The difficulty with enforcement of illegal charters is the U.S. Coast Guard can only regulate federal violations and vice versa. An anonymous source familiar with these regulations said that, in