Hiring an unlicensed charter is dangerous because the charter may not have the proper emergency safety gear, navigation and communication gear, and may not have undergone the proper license exams and inspections which are put in place to ensure passenger and crew safety.
This posted highlights two recent back-to-back law enforcement cases in Florida that demonstrate the aggressive posture the Coast Guard is taking to eliminate illegal passenger charter activities. Because Smartphone-based applications have made it easier in recent years for passengers to locate and hire charter vessels, the Coast Guard is more vigilant than ever in detecting illegal charter activities and seek maximum enforcement actions against the vessel owners and operators.
In November, we published a blog post on illegal passenger vessel operations and the risk they pose to public safety, credentialed mariners, and legitimate operators. In this post, we highlight a recent case in Miami as an example of the dangers associated with illegal charter operations and the importance of a coordinated effort between federal and local law enforcement authorities and the passenger vessel industry to combat the problem.