Miami. 11 April 2019. The Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission terminated the voyage of a 42-foot pleasure craft, Breaking the Habit, with 15 passengers aboard Sunday near Sea Isle Marina, Sunday.
A Coast Guard Station Miami Beach boarding officer working with an FWC boatcrew conducted the boarding of the pleasure craft near Sea Isle Marina where they discovered the following violations:
- Violation of 46 C.F.R. 176.100A for not having a valid Certificate of Inspection.
- Violation of 33 C.F.R. 160.105 for not complying with a Captain of the Port order.
- Violation of 46 C.F.R. 16.201 for failure to have a drug and alcohol program.
- Violation of 46 C.F.R. 170.120 for failure to have a valid stability letter.
“This is the second time we’ve caught this particular charter in less than a month,” said Cmdr. Janet Espino-Young, prevention officer at Coast Guard 7th District. “Blatant disregard for boater safety will not be tolerated, and we will seek maximum penalties for people who choose to endanger others.”
Owners and operators of illegal charter vessels can face maximum civil penalties of over $91,000 for illegal passenger-for-hire operations. Some potential fines for illegally operating a charter vessel are:
- Up to $18,477 for failure of an inspected vessel to be under the control of an individual with the appropriate Coast Guard license.
- Up to $7,250 for failure of operators to be enrolled in a chemical testing program.
- Up to $4,685 for failure to provide a Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection for vessels carrying more than six passengers.
- Up to $15,995 for failure to produce a valid Certificate of Documentation for vessels over 5 gross tons.
- Up to $11,712 for failure to have been issued a valid Stability Letter prior to placing vessel in service with more than six passengers.
- Up to $25,000 for each day the vessel is in violation of the Captain of the Port Order.
