H349684

H349684 May 1, 2026 OT:RR:BSTC:CCR H349684 JLE CATEGORY: Carriers Sean T. Pribyl, Esq. Holland & Knight, LLP 800 17th Street, N.W. Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20006 RE: Coastwise Transportation; Outer Continental Shelf; Wells; Fixed Structure; 46 U.S.C. §§ 55102, 55111; 19 C.F.R. § 4.80. Dear Mr. Pribyl, This letter is in response to your June 19, 2025, ruling request submitted on behalf of your client, [ ] (the “Company”), regarding whether the use of foreign-flagged vessels on the Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”), as described below, would violate the coastwise laws.1 Our decision follows. FACTS The following facts are from your client’s ruling request. Your client has requested U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) determine whether the use of foreign-flagged vessels 1 You have asked this office for confidential treatment of specific information relating to the identity of your client and their customers, project site locations, number of components utilized, and vessel charters. If this office receives a Freedom of Information Act request for your submission, CBP Regulations (See 19 C.F.R. § 177.2, et seq.) regarding the disclosure of business information provide that the submitter of business information will be advised of receipt of a request for such information whenever the business submitter has in good faith designated the information as commercially or financially sensitive information. We accept your request for confidential treatment as a good faith request. for transportation in connection with the decommissioning and removal of a remaining non- functional platform at the [ ] installation site on [ ] (the “Site”) on the Outer Continental Shelf (“OSC”) would comply with 46 U.S.C. § 55102 and 19 C.F.R. § 4.80. Particularly, your client’s proposed transportation activities contemplate using a foreign-flag barge to transport the removed topside modules of the rig to a U.S. onshore facility where the topside modules will be brought onshore, dismantled, and recycled; using foreign- flagged tugs to tow the floating hull to a reef site at a pristine location on the OCS; and, using a foreign-flagged vessel to retrieve and transport the disconnected mooring system to a U.S. onshore facility where the mooring lines will be recycled as scrap. The [ ] lease expiration clock commenced once the wells ceased production in [ ] and expired after one year in [ ]. Once the lease terminated [ ], [ ] was prohibited from using the lease or any of the physical assets on the lease for any exploration, development, or production activities. The site must be decommissioned by [ ] within one year by [ ] following lease expiration. You provided the following graphic of the decommissioning process: [ ] You aver that the state of the facilities will comply with all the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (“BSEE”) requirements for permanently abandoned wellbores and will be unable to physically produce hydrocarbons. This compliance will occur ahead of any topside removal activity scheduled for the [ ]. More specifically, at the time of topside removal, the platform will no longer be operational as an oil and gas production facility or pipeline hub. All wells will be plugged and permanently abandoned, all topside facilities will be “air-gapped” where the process train will be disconnected at various points thereby no longer permitting oil and gas to be processed through the topside’s equipment, and all pipelines will be cleaned and disconnected from the regional pipeline system. Additionally, the platform cannot be repurposed for other uses such as an 2 offshore wind farm or a commercial fishing port. At that time the platform will be inactive and will simply be a stationary object on the OCS that poses a navigational obstruction to shipping. To decommission the platform, your client will start with the removal of the topside. The topside modules will be placed on a non-coastwise-qualified foreign-flag barge, which will return topside scrap material to a U.S. port for disposal. Once the topside modules are removed, the hull will be disconnected and towed to a pristine OCS seabed site beyond the three-mile U.S. territorial sea by foreign-flagged tugs to create an artificial reef under the “Rigs-to-Reef” program. The mooring system, having been disconnected from the hull, will be retrieved by a foreign-flagged vessel and transported to a U.S. port for disposal. ISSUES 1. Whether the well would lose its designation as a coastwise point after the permanent abandonment. 2. Whether the proposed platform decommissioning process after the permanent abandonment of a well would violate 46 U.S.C. § 55102. 3. Whether the proposed platform decommissioning process after the permanent abandonment of a well would violate the coastwise towing statute, 46 U.S.C. § 55111. LAW AND ANALYSIS Generally, the coastwise laws prohibit the transportation of merchandise between points in the United States embraced within the coastwise laws in any vessel other than a vessel built in, documented under the laws of, and owned by citizens of the United States. Such a vessel, after it has obtained a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement from the U.S. Coast Guard, is said to be “coastwise qualified.” The coastwise laws generally apply to points in the territorial sea, which is defined as the belt, three nautical miles wide, seaward of the territorial sea baseline, and to points located in internal waters, landward of the territorial sea baseline.2 In addition, Section 4(a)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953 (“OCSLA”), as amended, provides that the Constitution and laws and civil and political jurisdiction of the United States are extended to: (i) the subsoil and seabed of the outer Continental Shelf; (ii) all artificial islands on the outer Continental Shelf; (iii) installations and other devices permanently or temporarily attached to the seabed, which may be erected thereon for the purpose of exploring for, developing, or producing resources, including non-mineral energy resources; or 2 33 C.F.R. § 2.22(a)(2). 3 (iv) any such installation or other device (other than a ship or vessel) for the purpose of transporting or transmitting such resources.3 Section 203 of the OCSLA Amendments of 1978 (92 Stat. 629, 635) (1978 Amendments), amended section 4(a) of the OCSLA by substituting “... and all installations and other devices permanently or temporarily attached to the seabed ...” for “...and fixed structures ....” The legislative history states the purpose of this change was to make it clear “...that Federal law is to be applicable to all activities on all devices in contact with the seabed for exploration, development, and production.” Thus, Federal law was intended “... to be applicable to activities on drilling ships, semisubmersible drilling rigs, and other watercraft, when they are connected to the seabed by drillstring, pipes, or other appurtenances, on the OCS for exploration, development, or production purposes."4 The coastwise law applicable to the transportation of merchandise, often referred to as “the Jones Act,” is found at 46 U.S.C. § 55102,5 and provides in pertinent part: Except as otherwise provided in this chapter or chapter 121 of this title, a vessel may not provide any part of the transportation of merchandise by water, or by land and water, between points in the United States to which the coastwise laws apply, either directly or via a foreign port, unless the vessel— (1) is wholly owned by citizens of the United States for purposes of engaging in the coastwise trade; and (2) has been issued a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement under chapter 121 or is exempt from documentation but would otherwise be eligible for such a certificate and endorsement. The Jones Act only partially defines the term “merchandise,” setting forth that merchandise “includes … merchandise owned by the United States Government, a State, or a

Generally, the coastwise laws prohibit the transportation of merchandise between points in the United States embraced within the coastwise laws in any vessel other than a vessel built in, documented under the laws of, and owned by citizens of the United States. Such a vessel, after it has obtained a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement from the U.S. Coast Guard, is said to be “coastwise qualified.” The coastwise laws generally apply to points in the territorial sea, which is defined as the belt, three nautical miles wide, seaward of the territorial sea baseline, and to points located in internal waters, landward of the territorial sea baseline.2 In addition, Section 4(a)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953 (“OCSLA”), as amended, provides that the Constitution and laws and civil and political jurisdiction of the United States are extended to: (i) the subsoil and seabed of the outer Continental Shelf; (ii) all artificial islands on the outer Continental Shelf; (iii) installations and other devices permanently or temporarily attached to the seabed, which may be erected thereon for the purpose of exploring for, developing, or producing resources, including non-mineral energy resources; or 2 33 C.F.R. § 2.22(a)(2). 3 

(iv) any such installation or other device (other than a ship or vessel) for the purpose of transporting or transmitting such resources.3 Section 203 of the OCSLA Amendments of 1978 (92 Stat. 629, 635) (1978 Amendments), amended section 4(a) of the OCSLA by substituting “... and all installations and other devices permanently or temporarily attached to the seabed ...” for “...and fixed structures ....” The legislative history states the purpose of this change was to make it clear “...that Federal law is to be applicable to all activities on all devices in contact with the seabed for exploration, development, and production.” Thus, Federal law was intended “... to be applicable to activities on drilling ships, semisubmer