MIASF Advocates For Recreational Boating in D.C.

In February, leaders from the Marine Industries Association of South Florida (MIASF), the US Superyacht Association, and MIASF lobbyist, visited congressional, senate and federal agency offices in Washington, D.C. to address issues impacting the yachting community.

The group visited the offices of Congressman Ted Deutch and Senator Marco Rubio to thank them for their support in writing a joint letter to request the consistent and correct issuance of visas to yacht crew visiting the U.S. on foreign-flagged vessels.

Meetings were also held with the new staff responsible for the yachting community from both the Department of State (DOS) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). DOS has updated the Field Advisory Manual (FAM) to include clarification of the appropriate visa to be issued for yachts and has also included the topic in their training sessions for officers in route to a consulate.

Several divisions of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) met with the team to review the progress in writing the new regulation to the U.S. flagging of recreational vessels over 300 gross tons. The group discussed manning requirements and avoiding unintended consequences. They shared concerns with the leadership responsible for the review and approval of non-tank vessel response plans (NVRP). The review process takes up to 60 days and during this time vessels are forbidden from entering the U.S. without an approved plan. Staff asked for the industry to provide data and they would investigate options to facilitate a more efficient process.