The Maritime Administration (MARAD), part of the Department of Transportation, has received a request for a waiver to allow the vessel JAGUAR SHARK, a 41-foot motor yacht, to carry up to twelve passengers for hire. This waiver, if granted, would exempt the vessel from certain U.S. coastwise trade laws, which typically require vessels to be U.S.-built. The intended use for the JAGUAR SHARK is as a "live aboard charter boat" operating in Alaska, excluding Southeastern waters, with Homer, Alaska as its base of operations. Public comments on this waiver request are invited and can be submitted through the specified channels by February 8, 2021.
Simple Explanation
The people in charge of boats in the U.S. might let a boat called JAGUAR SHARK take passengers for trips in Alaska, even though it wasn't made in the U.S. Normally, boats have to be made in the U.S. to do this, but they want to make an exception and are asking people what they think about this idea until February 8, 2021.