00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 12 01 Opposing proposed changes to the interpretation of the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 02 June 19, 1886, by the United States Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of 03 Customs and Border Protection, affecting cruise itineraries of foreign-flagged vessels 04 transporting passengers to ports in Alaska. 05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 WHEREAS the cruise ship industry is an integral part of the economy of the state; 07 and 08 WHEREAS the tourism industry in the state thrives when cruise ships land at ports in 09 the state; and 10 WHEREAS about 1,000,000 passengers visited the state by cruise ship during 2007, 11 typically calling at three or four ports of call; and 12 WHEREAS many of the cruise ships visiting the state travel under foreign flags; and 13 WHEREAS these foreign-flagged vessels generally operate as noncoastwise-qualified 14 vessels, as defined by the Passenger Vessel Services Act of June 19, 1886, as amended (46 15 U.S.C. 55103); and 01 WHEREAS current regulations adopted to implement and interpret the Act provide 02 that the Act is violated when a noncoastwise-qualified vessel that is a foreign-flagged cruise 03 ship transports a passenger on a voyage solely to one or more coastwise ports and the 04 passenger disembarks or goes ashore temporarily at a coastwise port, and when a 05 noncoastwise-qualified vessel transports a passenger on a voyage to one or more coastwise 06 ports and a nearby foreign port or ports, but no other foreign port, and the passenger 07 disembarks at a coastwise port other than the port of embarkation, but that there is no 08 violation of the Act when a passenger is on a voyage to one or more coastwise ports and a 09 distant foreign port or ports and the passenger disembarks at a coastwise port if the passenger 10 has proceeded with the vessel to a distant foreign port; and 11 WHEREAS foreign-flagged passenger vessels compete with United States-flagged 12 cruise vessels in the Hawaiian market from mainland United States ports of embarkation; to 13 comply with the Act, these foreign-flagged vessels typically call briefly at the port of 14 Ensenada, Mexico, often without permitting passengers to disembark; and 15 WHEREAS this competition in the Hawaiian cruise market has generated economic 16 hardship on the operations of coastwise-qualified cruise ship operators in that market; and 17 WHEREAS, motivated in part by expressions by the United States-flagged cruise 18 vessels operating in the Hawaiian cruise ship market opposing these foreign-flagged cruise 19 ship itineraries, the United States Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Customs and 20 Border Protection, is proposing to adopt a new interpretive rule that would require stops at an 21 intervening foreign port to last at least 48 hours, to spend an amount of time at the foreign 22 port that is more than 50 percent of the total amount of time at the United States ports of call, 23 and to permit cruise ship passengers to disembark at the foreign port; and 24 WHEREAS it is not clear from the notice and publicity relating to the proposed rule 25 change that the rule, if adopted, would be confined in its application to foreign-flagged 26 vessels engaged in the Hawaiian cruise ship market; and 27 WHEREAS application of the rule to the Alaska market would have devastating 28 economic effects in the coastal communities of this state; if applied to Alaska, the proposed 29 revision of the interpretive rule would typically allow not more than one stop, or perhaps two 30 brief stops, in ports of call in Southeast and Southcentral Alaska, thereby reducing or limiting 31 port calls in some places and eliminating them in others; and 01 WHEREAS application of the proposed rule change to the Alaska market would 02 diminish the attractiveness of Alaska as a cruise ship itinerary destination; and 03 WHEREAS application of the proposed rule change to the Alaska market would also 04 significantly and dramatically reduce the shoreside employment and business opportunities in 05 the communities in this state in which cruise ships currently call; 06 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature opposes the proposed changes 07 to the interpretation of the Passenger Vessel Services Act of June 19, 1886 (46 U.S.C. 55103), 08 as amended by the United States Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Customs and 09 Border Protection, that would require nonqualified coastwise vessels to 10 (1) stop at least 48 hours in a foreign port; and 11 (2) spend more than 50 percent of the total time spent in United States ports in 12 foreign ports. 13 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Michael Chertoff, United 14 States Secretary of Homeland Security; the Honorable W. Ralph Basham, Commissioner of 15 the United States Bureau of Customs and Border Protection; and the Honorable Ted Stevens 16 and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. 17 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.