Cabotage laws deal with the transportation of goods or passengers between two points in the same country. In the United States, such transport can only be performed by U.S. flagged carriers which include, ocean vessels, air, rail and truck. Violations are enforced by fines which are levied by the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. A foreign-flag ocean carrier client left a U.S port and was enroute to Bermuda when a fire broke out in the vessel's engine room. The vessel was towed back to Florida and there the cargo was transshipped to another vessel. U.S. Customs asserted that transporting cargo from one U.S. port to another constituted a violation of 46 U.S.C. § 55102 and levied a $100,000 fine on the carrier. We filed a petition arguing that the vessel arrived in distress, and that the claim and fine should be expunged. Customs found that although there was a technical violation, the vessel did arrive in distress and thus this constituted mitigating circumstances. Accordingly, the claim was remitted in full.
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