The U.S. Coast Guard and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department stopped a 37-foot pleasure craft in Marina del Rey with 20 passengers on board that was allegedly operating as an illegal charter, officials said Saturday.
The SAIL LA VIE was stopped last Saturday and violations included not having a valid Certificate of Inspection, operating in coastwise trade without the appropriate Certificate of Documentation endorsement and failure to have a random drug program.
The vessel was issued a Captain of the Port Order to cease operations as a small passenger vessel until the SAIL LA VIE rectified the violations, the Coast Guard said.
Illegal charters pose serious safety concerns to the public, the agency said. Any captain operating a boat with paying passengers is required to hold a Coast Guard license an meet safety requirements, the Coast Guard said.
“Passengers are urged by the Coast Guard to ask to see their Captain’s Merchant Mariner Credential,” the agency said.
Owners and operators of illegal charter boats can face civil penalties of tens of thousands of dollars and violating a Captain of the Port Order is a felony punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 for an organization.