U.S. flag maritime companies are the bulwark of the American Maritime Industry. Scholasticus has over a decade of experience advising U.S. maritime companies on a variety of issues. Scholasticus has added value to these companies by saving millions of dollars in duties owed and by properly planning operations to ensure they can be conducted in line with relevant law.
Crewing
Current U.S. policy unfortunately restricts crewing requirements in a manner which can limit the work U.S. flag vessels can accomplish. The reason for this is that U.S. law requires that only U.S. citizens or permanent residents provide crewing services. For specialized operations, such as pipelaying, anchor management, there are limited experts available worldwide for such projects, with even less U.S. citizens available. As such, U.S. companies are often at a crossroads of how to conduct operations while having the necessary personnel on board.
Scholasticus has regularly advised clients on how to conduct its operations in line with applicable law.
Vessel Repair Statute
Managing repairs while U.S. flag vessels are overseas is critical for U.S. flag companies. The U.S. levies a 50% ad valorem duty on purchases of such repairs and equipment. Scholasticus has received dozens of favorable results from adjudications of vessel entries. Guiding companies to ensure regulatory compliance and the minimal amount of duty permitted by law is a daily activity for Scholasticus.
Proper planning can go a long way to ensuring that vessels do not pay excessive amounts of duty. For example, while “repairs” are subject to duty, “modifications” are not. Properly planning shipyard activities and ensuring that they are properly described can save millions of dollars in duty. Similarly, while overseas “equipment” purchases are dutiable at 50%, purchases of “parts” are often dutiable at much lower rates. Finally, repair work in countries subject to Free Trade Agreements with the U.S. are often duty free.
Properly planning these purchases while vessels are overseas can lead to tremendous cost savings. Scholasticus is ready to assist its clients achieve these results.
