The Yacht Law Podcast
The Yacht Law Podcast
Superyacht Cruising in Alaska: Navigating the Legal Waters
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Are you eager for extraordinary superyacht cruising experiences in Alaska? This episode offers a comprehensive exploration of the essential regulations, documentation requirements, and environmental considerations that yacht owners must be aware of before navigating these stunning waters. We uncover the increasing popularity of Alaskan cruising, highlighting why this destination has become a sought-after choice for yacht enthusiasts.
Gain insight into maritime laws that differentiate Alaska from other states, affecting how yacht travel operates in this pristine region. We discuss crucial topics such as pilotage, necessary certifications, and the environmental impact regulations in place. You'll discover the significance of having proper permits and documentation while in the state, which can be the key to avoiding legal pitfalls.
Additionally, learn about the importance of choosing a knowledgeable yacht agent. Their expertise in local laws and requirements can make your journey smoother and more rewarding. With such vital information at your fingertips, you'll be well-equipped for an unforgettable yachting experience amidst Alaska's breathtaking landscapes.
Join us, subscribe, share, and leave a review to keep our discussions going! What questions do you have about yachting in Alaska? Your insights are invaluable!
Have a yacht law question? Email it to info@megayachtnews.com or michael@moore-and-co.com for your chance to have it answered on our podcast. All requests for confidentiality and/or anonymity are respected.
Hiring a lawyer is a big decision. Visit Moore & Company for the legal team's qualifications and experience. And, to learn the latest about superyacht launches, shipyards, designs, and destinations, visit Megayacht News.
Welcome everybody to the Yacht Law Podcast. Michael, how are you today?
Speaker 2:Doing great. Thank you, Diane.
Speaker 1:So we're sitting here right now. It's the end of February, which I can hardly believe because I feel like 2025 just started and we're almost at the end of the first quarter. It's crazy.
Speaker 2:It's completely nuts. I mean, it's already Palm Beach Boat Show time and it seems like Miami Boat Show was a distant memory.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:It's crazy, can't figure it out.
Speaker 1:The years also seem to go a little bit quicker too, just because of the nature of yachting, where we're always looking at something two, three, four months down the road, and I know some of the owners are certainly doing that right now. They're looking at their summer cruising plans, and over the past couple of years I certainly have been hearing a lot more buzz about superyacht cruising in Alaska and a lot more questions coming up, and I understand that you actually have been fielding a lot more questions about it too.
Speaker 2:That's absolutely true. I think that's it. I've learned a few things that Alaska is the number one cruise destination in the world. I haven't seen that broken down into categories, in other words cruise ships versus yachts and so forth, but I know that in our practice for sure there's been an uptick in yachts looking to cruise in Alaskan waters. And how can that be done and what are the rules? Are they different there, et cetera.
Speaker 1:So why don't we go into some of the legalities of cruising there? I'm sure a lot of people are going to have questions and hopefully we can answer them in this episode.
Speaker 2:I think yeah, I think that most people start off with maritime law assuming correctly, assuming that the law admiralty law is uniform. Now, of course, this is all built right into the Constitution in Article 3. It has to do with, you know, the fact that vessels move around, so you want the law to be the same if you're in South Carolina or Georgia or Florida, etc. So, at least in theory, wherever you travel, the law should be the same. That is a pretty good place to start, but I've learned the hard way. It's not always the case. Things differ according to a variety of factors. So Alaska is one that's been on our radar screen to figure out if the rules are different there.
Speaker 1:Right, right, I understand there are some differences in terms of cruising in the lower 48 versus going up to Alaska, so that probably is the best place to start. Is it possible for an owner who is already cruising in American waters to say, hey, let's go to Alaska, and the captain basically says, ok, great, we'll pick up next month, start heading up the coast and it's that easy. I don't think it's that easy.
Speaker 2:Well, you always have to start with the vessel. And what is the vessel? Us flag flag, is it foreign flag? And then, if it's us flag, what is the? What are the endorsements on the, on the, the document itself.
Speaker 2:To some extent that also applies with foreign flag, with the us flag vessels. You know you havea variety of issues that I think alaska is a little bit more concerned about because you know it's such a vast and pristine area, really depends so much on its tourism. The first thing that anyone is asked when they want to take a cruise, whether they call up their agent or call up their yacht manager, it's where do you want to cruise? And no one relocates a vessel at vast expense. They really try to harmonize the vessel's travel plans with the cruise opportunities.
Speaker 2:So if you're cruising successfully in US waters on a US flag vessel, you're going to be, you'll have no issues as far as entering Alaskan waters waters, I think the only thing that may be a little bit surprising is that you will have to have a pilot on board when you enter the various ports. This is not a bad thing. This is local knowledge, you know, even though your captain is good at reading the charts and so forth. Local knowledge is always paramount and it has to do with currents and so forth. The pilotage thing is, I think, the thing that really gets us. Usually the calls are you know, do I have to do this because it costs money? And the answer is yes, you do. If you're over 65 feet, you're going to have to have a pilot on board.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a good tip actually that a lot of people don't realize. There are other areas of the country where pilots are required to, but it's for mostly the larger vessels, over 100 gross tons or over 200 gross tons, I don't recall exactly the number, but it's. It definitely applies to the, the bigger and even in some cases the biggest of the big vessels. So the fact that that Alaska is actually defining it by size and it's a quote-unquote small size for the superyacht crowd, the fact that it starts at 65 feet.
Speaker 1:That's pretty interesting. So they really are very, very keen to make sure that those local captains who are far more familiar with the waters, far more familiar with the vagaries of the tides, etc. Are the ones who are actually at the wheel.
Speaker 2:You know, and I would say that, the common sense thing. You know, you'll see some of the statutes. They appear to say that the pilotage only applies to foreign flag vessels. But here again, considering what you're up against, considering the currents, the tides, the tidal shifts, the things that aren't on a chart, you know you're going to be a little ahead of the game. If you listen to the local captains, these are pilots. I mean, they're captains, they have a title of pilot, but it certainly goes a long way. One thing about Alaska is if there's one thing that rules everything, it's environmentalism. They're very sensitive to their beautiful environmental state at their state. Very sensitive to their beautiful environmental state at their state. I think if you look at, for example, Marpol 90, all of that came after the Exxon Valdez and the spill in Alaskan waters. It took billions and billions of dollars. I think the last time I checked it was like $9 billion or something. But it's the reality of the damage that was done that really upsets most people.
Speaker 1:And totally understandable. I want to definitely get into some more of the details about the documents in terms of environmental impact et cetera in a second. But, still on the subject of the general big picture cruising in Alaska. A cruising permit is also required, as I understand. Is that only for foreign flagged vessels, or is that also for American flagged vessels?
Speaker 2:That's only for foreign flagged vessels and that when you do it you know you have a reciprocal privilege depending on the flag state that you're flying. The first question is does that flag state give reciprocal cruising privileges to US flag vessels? So, for example I think I'm correct on this and it's I'm not a hundred percent, I think I'm ninety nine point nine percent the Maltese flag and you see there's quite a few Maltese flag vessels, but you know the vast majority of certain navigating the med and they're, you know, that's perfectly acceptable flag for that. But I think, in terms of applying for and receiving a cruising permit, malta does not give reciprocal cruising privileges. So you will not qualify for a cruising license or a permit.
Speaker 2:What does the cruising permit do it? It's more restrictive than anything. It kind of tells you what you can't do you can't market, you can't promote, you can't sell, you can't charter, you can't do a lot of things. When you're visiting, you're like a visitor from another country and you're entering the economic zone and the customs zone and the territorial areas of the sovereign nation. There's a lot of things taken away.
Speaker 2:But principally, once you get past those sort of things, you're going to have to check in at every single port that you visit, which is going to be a very big pain in the bottom. You're essentially making entry at each port. There's no privilege given to one of the other ports. As I already entered you, you have to re-enter in each port. So you're definitely going to want to try to look ahead and see well, do I need a cruising permit, and how do I get that? And the answer is you do get a local agent, like you do in the United States, in the lower 48, as they say, and that gets you the license that you can show. All you have to do is show it at each port to make entry.
Speaker 1:Right, which underscores the reason why yacht agents are, in many ways, the good ones are worth their weight in gold because they know all of these rules and regulations in advance. They save you a lot of headaches.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely advance. They save you a lot of headaches. Oh, absolutely, yeah, definitely. So what other documents do the yachts and really the captains have to have on board? Are there any other things they have to show authorities? A minute ago or so, you were talking about the environmental sensitivity of alaska, which is renowned, and that's why people want to go there because it is so beautiful, because it is so pristine. There's, there's something I was reading called an alaska cofr. What exactly is that document and why is it necessary?
Speaker 2:well, that's a certificate of financial responsibility and that has a massive insurance policy behind it and because it it's but it's one of these rare events but you know, most people can look at a boat and say that's a you know 80-foot boat or that's a 75-foot boat, but how?
Speaker 2:many people can look at a boat and say that's under 300 tons or something. There's a mathematical formulas of how you calculate enclosed spaces and that's how you get to do. You need a COFR or not? This question needs to be asked of the local agent. Chances are you may already have it if you've been in and around US waters. But one thing is certain if you don't have it, you will not be allowed entry. You'll be turned away because it is an oil spill type.
Speaker 2:Insurance policy doesn't cost much because it's a global regime, but it's for one thing and that is oil spill. Then you have a heightened step above that that is usually determined by the flag state, generally just referred to as the blue card, and it's a step above the coffer and that is the wreck removal card. Lifting and raising and removing vessels is an extremely expensive process. So a lot of the flag states this blue card requirement. You have a blue card and you get that through your marine insurance broker. I will tell you that the majority of marine insurance brokers just really don't have the access to get the blue card. The bigger houses, the ones that you know and love and you see around the yacht world you know Willis Towers or Marsh or New Coast. You know they have access to those markets. They're used to dealing in the big yachts, but some of the smaller houses that the owners here and there want to use because their brother-in-law runs the agency or something, they simply don't have access to those markets.
Speaker 2:I had a situation recently on a very nice motor yacht I think it was 80 feet and it was about $5 million of value. And of course you want to honor the owner's desire to use the broker that he wished to use. You don't inject yourself into every aspect of the owner's plans, but I knew from the beginning that this buyer was going to have problems. But you know I represented the seller, so I just wanted the deal to go through and so I just let the deal close. And then, after the deal closed, I called the buyer and I called his marine insurance broker.
Speaker 2:I said look, I'm just guessing that you might have some difficulties getting the blue card. I don't believe your flag state is not going to let you be with the wreck removal card. And sure enough, that's why he called me back and said you know, you're absolutely right. I think we're working on entering those markets to get the card issued. And after a while they got it. But the COFR would be a complete not-start. You wouldn't be able to enter the United States at all. They would literally turn you away at the door.
Speaker 1:Okay, now there's also an agricultural inspection type of certificate that's required. That also seems pretty obvious that that's because of the sensitive environmental situation in Alaska. But what is that all about? Because, if I'm thinking correctly, that's something that has cropped up for other ports in the US as well.
Speaker 2:I think the thing about the yacht world and particularly the shipping world across the board. You know they do the best they can do to pass these treaties at each level. The bigger the vessel, the more regulation. But as the yachts have gotten bigger you've seen more yachts susceptible to these certificates that you have to get, which are inspections. They are completely separate inspections by agriculture and they're trying to figure out if you've got something on board that you shouldn't. They want to see that you've been sprayed and they're getting more and more specific about it. It's a one-year certificate. It's got to be renewed every year.
Speaker 2:Certainly, if you're a bigger yacht, you're going to have it in your files, in your book of files. You will not be permitted to flag in most states book of files. You will not be permitted to flag in most states. It's one of the reasons that you flag in what I call legitimate flag states. I've from time to time got calls where yachts have been pulled out of line because they're just not trusted when they enter the waters. The harbor master and the people that work with the harbor master and the agencies that govern carriage of people and goods by sea, they will look very, very carefully to make sure, if it hasn't been done, no-transcript. They're going to call in the inspectors. They're going to call in the fumigation people. They're going to fumigate the yacht. It can be a real nightmare, because you can be there for days, depending on who's available, and so forth.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, you were talking about renewing the agricultural certificate. Cruising permits can be renewed in certain circumstances, but can they be renewed while somebody is in Alaska?
Speaker 2:Well, it's a massive issue right now that you'll get a lot of different answers and a lot of different practice treatments. But the answer is, when you obtain a cruising permit, it's usually historically it's been good for a year. So you know you would come in, you show your certificate of registry, everything checks out, you would be issued a cruising permit, the certificate would stay with the customs official and you would be off to the races. That's actually not so true anymore. What's happening now, especially if you're a beneficial owner as an American, there are certain ports and certain people in those ports that basically are requiring, in the worst-case scenario, a full importation of the boat. We're talking about 1.5% of the total value of the boat has to be paid to enter the US waters. That's the most. What I consider the most draconian thing. The second thing is that they give limited cruising permits. Now one of the tests they ask is where is your itinerary? They ask is where is your itinerary? So if your itinerary is a dock in Fort Lauderdale behind your house, they're not getting very sensitive to that. They basically are saying no cruising permit means you're cruising, you have an itinerary. Therefore, we no longer believe that you're qualified. But they have now issued limited permits three months, four months, even six months but the old days of an instant year no longer seem to apply Now.
Speaker 2:You still have the gold standard that you want it's when you roll in. You get no grief, you get a one-year cruising permit. You get no grief, you get a one-year cruising permit. But the way it's supposed to happen is you can't leave the port that you're in If you've turned in your certificate of registry, well, in order to navigate away, you're going to have to get that back. So you have to surrender your cruising permit, get your certificate back, travel foreign effectively and then re-enter into Alaskan water. So you'd make entry the way you would with any other port. It's a little hinky, but it's no different. For example, if you get a cruising permit in Fort Lauderdale and you want to go to San Diego, well, you can't be navigating offshore, have to surrender your cruising permit and then reapply, which is we're seeing quite a bit of these days. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, one more reason why having a yacht agent working with you is crucial.
Speaker 2:You know, a knowledgeable agent is really it's gold.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm agent is really it's gold. Are there any particular yacht agents that you have encountered who seem to be?
Speaker 2:more reputable than others. I'm one of those persons. I'm pretty loyal in terms of when things work for a client of ours. We tend to use those people over and over again, but the Yacht Services of Alaska is the group that we have been recently using, and I'm sure there are other groups there and I hope they don't get mad at me, but the reality is, at one particular group they just seem to have the answers, and that's what we're looking for, and right now their record is flawless and they really give great advice and they know their length. There's a couple of women there that are very knowledgeable. Angel Holbrook is outstanding and she's like been the leader of the group and she's available. I'm trying to think if there's anyone else that I can point to, but she's probably my first choice.
Speaker 1:Good to know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there's a woman named Bella. I think her last name is Roberts Bella Roberts. But yeah, this kind of it's like a pilot situation you can read a book and you can go on the internet, the internet is like one of the most fertile sources of misinformation in my world because people get online they don't realize the law has changed.
Speaker 2:They don't realize the law has changed. They don't realize the factor that's missing. They don't realize that somebody put that information there. They may have been mistaken in terms of what they posted, maybe the odds of a different size in class. So you really do. We're completely unreluctant to say to our clients look, you know, we do this all over the world. We're going to be checking and rechecking the advice we give because it can be so. You know it can change from day to day. The law inherently changes. It's right now changing rapidly.
Speaker 2:New administration in the White House and this whole executive order thing has changed the playing field. You know you read these articles in the paper. You know you have to verify it. You can't assume anything really and sometimes there's overlap. But Alaska, on the one hand, it's kind of like this wild, wild west situation. It's one of the attractions, is totally pristine, but at the same time you just simply don't have the kind of infrastructures that you have in places like Fort Lauderdale or Palm Beach or Miami. So when you find someone like Bella Roberts or Holbrook, yeah, and they are worth, they are gold, yeah, we totally. I think, the agents in the South Florida offices, I think, or wherever are also interacting with those people.
Speaker 2:They try to always make sure everybody's on the same page, right.
Speaker 1:It's that whole idea of the local knowledge. Well, we've certainly covered a lot of ground here today no pun intended, exactly but I'm sure we've helped a lot of people, as usual. So thank you, as always, for your insight.
Speaker 2:It's always a pleasure it makes. It really is great to delve into these subjects and you know one area kind of dig into it deeply, and I appreciate that yeah, I I, as usual.
Speaker 1:I have certainly learned a lot myself. So thank you, everybody for listening. If you have a yacht law question that you would like us to address on an upcoming episode of the Yacht Law Podcast, you can reach out to Michael or me. Our contact information is in the show notes for this episode. Our goal is to help you make better, educated decisions, after all, whether you are a yacht owner, a crew member, a representative in the industry or someone just seeking to learn more about the world of yachting and we can also keep you anonymous if you so wish, until next time. I'm Diane Byrne. Michael, I'll give you the last word.
Speaker 2:I'm Michael Moore. It's been a pleasure. Thanks, diane. See you next time. I'm Diane Byrne. Michael, I'll give you the last word. I'm Michael Moore. It's been a pleasure. Thanks, diane. See you next time.
Speaker 1:See you next time, everybody.
Speaker 2:Bye-bye.
