BRADENTON BEACH – On Thursday, May 7, a Coast Guard Station Cortez law enforcement crew terminated the activities of an illegal charter vessel that was acting as a bareboat charter with 11 passengers for hire near the Bradenton Beach Marina.
After investigation, Coast Guard officers deemed the 42-foot vessel, She’s Always Right, operated as an illegal small passenger vessel. The officers terminated the charter boat’s voyage and escorted the boat and passengers back to the Bradenton Beach Marina, according to a press release issued the following day by the United States Coast Guard Public Affairs Detachment Tampa Bay.
In the press release, Brian Knapp, chief of investigations at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, stated, “For a bareboat charter to be legally valid, the renter must have complete control over who is at the helm – whether they pilot the vessel themselves or hire a captain of their own choosing. Once an owner dictates which captain the renter must use, it is no longer a bareboat charter.”
In a May 12 email to The Sun, Knapp stated the incident remained under investigation and no further details were being released at the time.
During the boarding of the chartered vessel, Coast Guard officers determined four violations: Failure to have a valid certificate of inspection, not having a credentialed mariner in control while operating a small passenger vessel, failure to have a drug and alcohol program and failure to have a valid certificate of documentation.
According to the press release, potential civil penalties for illegally operating a passenger vessel include up to $5,996 for the failure to provide a Coast Guard certificate of inspection for vessels carrying more than six passengers for hire, up to $9,624 for the failure of the operators to be enrolled in a drug and alcohol program and up to $20,468 for the failure to produce a valid certificate of documentation for vessels weighing over five gross tons.
According to the press release, “The Coast Guard urges anyone paying for a trip on a vessel to verify the captain has a safety plan and a merchant mariner credential. For larger charter boats, or those with more than six passengers, ask to see a Coast Guard-issued certificate of inspection. If the operator cannot produce appropriate credentials, passengers should not get on the boat.”
In the press release, Capt. Corrie Sergent, commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, said, “Illegal charter boat operations pose a significant threat to public safety and the integrity of the maritime industry. When someone ignores those requirements, they bypass the protections the public depends on when they step aboard a vessel.”
