OT:RR:BSTC:CCR H336898 HKC
Carlos C. Martel
Director of Field Operations
Miami/Tampa Field Offices
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
909 SE 1st Avenue, Suite 980
Miami, FL 33131
RE: Request for Internal Advice: Applicability of Entry and Arrival Requirements to SpaceX
Vessels Involved in Space Flight Hardware Recovery Operations; 19 U.S.C. §§ 1433, 1434
Dear DFO Martel:
This is in response to your Request for Internal Advice, dated June 8, 2024, in which you
request advice on the applicability of vessel entry and arrival requirements to SpaceX vessels
involved in space flight hardware component recovery operations on the high seas. 1 It is our
position that the vessel entry and arrival requirements contained within 19 U.S.C. §§ 1433, 1434
apply to the subject SpaceX vessels.
FACTS
The following facts are extracted from your Request for Internal Advice, as well as Space
X’s letter dated January 19, 2024 2 and SpaceX’s supplemental submission dated March 6, 2024, 3
1
Request for Internal Advice: Applicability of Entry and Arrival Requirements to SpaceX Vessels Involved in Space
Flight Hardware Recovery Operations, dated June 8, 2024 (hereinafter “the Request for Internal Advice”).
2
Re: U.S. Entry Requirements as Applied to SpaceX U.S.-Flag Vessels, dated Jan. 19, 2024, attached to the Request
for Internal Advice (hereinafter “SpaceX’s Jan. 19, 2024, letter”).
3
Summary of SpaceX Recovery Operations (Business Confidential), dated Mar. 6, 2024, attached to the Request for
Internal Advice. Space X requested confidential treatment of the information that is contained in brackets. If this
office receives a Freedom of Information Act request for the submission, regulations at 6 C.F.R. § 5.12, et seq.
regarding the disclosure of business information provide that the submitter of business information will be advised of
receipt of a request for such information whenever the business submitter has in good faith designated the information
as commercially or financially sensitive information. We accept Space X’s request for confidential treatment as a good
faith request.
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which you included as attachments to your Request for Internal Advice. Information appearing on
SpaceX’s website also informed our understanding of the facts as laid out below. SpaceX
submitted additional information regarding its launch operations to us on July 10, 2024. As this
was received after the June 8, 2024 request for internal advice, we have not relied on this additional
submission.
SpaceX is currently engaged in commercial space operations involving the launch of
rockets from within the customs territory of the United States and the subsequent recovery in the
ocean on the high seas of [ ] space flight hardware items that detach from the rocket after
launch: the fairings, booster, [ ], each of which is described below. 4
Fairings: According to the SpaceX website, fairings are made of a carbon composite material and
protect satellites on their way to orbit. 5 The fairings are jettisoned approximately 3 minutes into
flight, and SpaceX recovers the fairings for reuse on future missions. 6 After launch, the fairings
separate from the rocket into two halves and make a controlled descent to splashdown at a
designated landing zone in the ocean outside the U.S. territorial sea. A support vessel recovers the
two fairing halves and secures them to the deck for transport [
] back to a port in the United States for offloading.
Booster: After launch and separation, the rocket booster lands directly on the deck of a SpaceX
droneship, also outside the territorial sea. A towing vessel, [
], where the booster is
offloaded.
[
]
SpaceX has engaged coastwise-qualified vessels to recover these space flight hardware
components from high seas locations in the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and Gulf of America,
and return them to U.S. ports.
SpaceX asserts that the vessels that recover its rocket fairings, booster, [ ]
are not subject to the requirement to report arrival under 19 U.S.C. § 1433 or the requirement to
make formal vessel entry under 19 U.S.C. § 1434. 7 On April 5, 2024, the CBP Office of Field
Operations advised SpaceX that its vessels would be required to report arrival and make vessel
4
See Summary of SpaceX Recovery Operations (Business Confidential), dated Mar. 6, 2024.
5
See https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/falcon-
9/#:~:text=Made%20of%20a%20carbon%20composite%20material%2C%20the%20fairing,to%20recover%20fairings
%20for%20reuse%20on%20future%20missions, last accessed May 16, 2025.
6
Id.
7
See also implementing regulations at 19 C.F.R. §§ 4.2, 4.3.
Page 2 of 8
entry. 8 On April 16, 2024, SpaceX requested that Port Canaveral seek an internal advice letter
from CBP Headquarters per 19 C.F.R. § 177.11. 9 On June 8, 2024, the Miami Field Office
formally requested internal advice regarding the arrival and entry of SpaceX’s vessels, from CBP
Headquarters. 10
ISSUES
Whether vessels that recover SpaceX’s space hardware while outside the territorial sea are required
to report arrival under 19 U.S.C. § 1433.
Whether vessels that recover SpaceX’s space hardware while outside the territorial sea are required
to make vessel entry under 19 U.S.C. § 1434.
LAW AND ANALYSIS
The requirement to report vessel arrival is governed by 19 U.S.C. § 1433, which states, in
pertinent part:
“(a) Vessel arrival
(1) Immediately upon the arrival at any port or place within the United States or the Virgin
Islands of—
(A) any vessel from a foreign port or place;
(B) any foreign vessel from a domestic port;
(C) any vessel of the United States carrying foreign merchandise for which entry has not
been made; or
(D) any vessel which has visited a hovering vessel or received merchandise while outside
the territorial sea;
the master of the vessel shall report the arrival at the nearest customs facility or such other
place as the Secretary may prescribe by regulations…” (emphasis added)
The regulations implementing 19 U.S.C. § 1433 at 19 C.F.R. § 4.2 make clear that the
requirement to report arrival applies to vessels receiving merchandise on the high seas:
“(a) Upon arrival in any port or place within the U.S., including, for purposes of this
section, the U.S. Virgin Islands, of any vessel from a foreign port or place, any foreign
vessel from a port or place within the U.S., or any vessel of the U.S. carrying foreign
merchandise for which entry has not been made, the master of the vessel must immediately
8
Email, RE: SpaceX – Follow Up Meeting, dated Apr. 5, 2024, attached to the Request for Internal Advice.
9
Email, SpaceX – Follow Up Meeting, dated Apr. 16, 2024, attached to the Request for Internal Advice.
10
See the Request for Internal Advice.
Page 3 of 8
report that arrival to the nearest CBP facility or other location designated by the port
director…
(b) For purposes of this part, “foreign port or place” includes a hovering vessel, as defined
in 19 U.S.C. 1401(k), and any point in customs waters beyond the territorial sea or on the
high seas at which a vessel arriving in a port or place in the U.S. has received
merchandise…” (emphasis added)
The requirement to make formal vessel entry applies similarly to vessels receiving
merchandise outside the territorial sea and is governed by 19 U.S.C. § 1434, which states, in
pertinent part:
“(a) Formal entry
Within 24 hours (or such other period of time as may be provided under subsection (c)(2))
after the arrival at any port or place in the United States of—
(1) any vessel from a foreign port or place;
(2) any foreign vessel from a domestic port;
(3) any vessel of the United States having on board foreign merchandise for which entry has
not been made; or
(4) any vessel which has visited a hovering vessel or has delivered or received
merchandise while outside the territorial sea;
the master of the vessel shall, unless otherwise provided by law, make formal entry at the
nearest customs facility or such other place as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation.
(emphasis added)
The regulations implementing 19 U.S.C. § 1434 at 19 C.F.R. § 4.3 similarly state, in
pertinent part:
“(a) Formal entry required. Unless specifically excepted by law, within 48 hours after the
arrival at any port or place in the United States, the following vessels are required to make
formal entry:
(1) Any vessel from a foreign port or place;
(2) Any foreign vessel from a domestic port;
(3) Any vessel of the United States having foreign merchandise on board for which entry
has not been made; or
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(4) Any vessel which has visited a hovering vessel as defined in 19 U.S.C. 1401(k), or has
delivered or received merchandise or passengers while outside the territorial sea.”
(emphasis added)
Thus, the analysis of whether SpaceX’s recovery vessels are subject to the arrival reporting
and formal entry requirements necessitates that we determine (1) whether the vessels “delivered or
received merchandise or passengers”; and (2) if so, whether such delivery or receipt occurred
“outside the territorial sea.”
As an initial matter, it is our longstanding position that the breadth of the territorial sea
varies from three to twelve nautical miles according to the statute implemented. See, e.g., HQ
111275 (Nov. 13, 1990). The Federal statute implementing the provisions of the United Nations
Convention on the Territorial Sea 11 regarding the delimitation of the territorial sea from the high
seas is found at 33 U.S.C. § 151, which provides, in pertinent part, that the Secretary of Homeland
Security “…shall also establish appropriate identifiable lines dividing inland waters of the United
States from the high seas for the purpose of determining the applicability of each statute that refers
to this section or this section, as amended. These lines may not be located more than twelve
nautical miles seaward of the base line from which the territorial sea is measured.” 12 The definition
of the territorial sea provided pursuant to the authority of 33 U.S.C. § 151(b) is found in regulation
at 33 C.F.R. § 2.22, which provides:
(1) Territorial sea means the waters, 12 nautical miles wide, adjacent to the coast of
the United States and seaward of the territorial sea baseline, for—
(i) Statutes included within subtitle II, subtitle VI, and subtitle VII, title 46,
U.S.C.; the Act of June 15, 1917, as amended (46 U.S.C. 70051-70054); and
the Vessel Bridge-to-Bridge Radiotelephone Act (33 U.S.C. 1201-1208), and
any regulations issued under the authority of these statutes.
(ii) Purposes of criminal jurisdiction pursuant to Title 18, United States Code.
(iii) The special maritime and territorial jurisdiction as defined in 18 U.S.C. 7.
(iv) Interpreting international law.
(v) Any other treaty, statute, or regulation, or amendment thereto, interpreted by
the Coast Guard as incorporating the definition of territorial sea as being 12
nautical miles wide, adjacent to the coast of the United States and seaward of
the territorial sea baseline.
(2) Unless otherwise specified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, territorial
sea means the waters, 3 nautical miles wide, adjacent to the coast of the United States and
seaward of the territorial sea baseline.
Accordingly, for purposes of civil administration of the customs laws, CBP recognizes the
breadth of the territorial sea as three nautical miles wide adjacent to the U.S. coast and seaward of
the territorial sea baseline consistent with 33 C.F.R. § 2.22(a)(2).
11
Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, April 29, 1958, art. 3, 15 U.S.T. 1606, T.I.A.S. 5639,
516 U.N.T.S. 205.
12
33 U.S.C. 151(b).
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With respect to the question of whether the delivery or receipt occurred outside the
territorial sea, SpaceX describes in its submissions that SpaceX vessels recover the rocket fairings,
boosters [ ] at locations “on the high seas,” which generally means outside of
the U.S. territorial sea. See SpaceX’s letter dated January 19, 2024, and SpaceX’s supplemental
submission dated March 6, 2024 (describing SpaceX’s recovery operations as taking place “on the
high seas”); 33 C.F.R. § 2.32(a) (defining “high seas”); 33 C.F.R. § 2.22(a)(2) (defining the
“territorial sea”). The vessels subsequently arrive at U.S. ports where the rocket fairings, boosters,
[ ] are unladed. Accordingly, these recovery activities are occurring “while
outside the territorial sea” - and SpaceX’s submissions do not contest this point. Therefore, we
must next consider whether, by recovering the fairings, boosters, [ ] on the high
seas, the vessels “received merchandise” while outside the territorial sea.
Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1401(c), the word “merchandise,” as used in 19 U.S.C. §§
1433(a)(1)(D) and 1434(a)(4) (among other provisions), is defined as “goods, wares, and chattels
of every description, and includes merchandise the importation of which is prohibited, and
monetary instruments as defined in section 5312 of Title 31.” Here, the rocket fairing, booster, [
]are unquestionably merchandise pursuant to the relevant statutory definition at 19
U.S.C. § 1401(c). Indeed, SpaceX’s submissions do not contest this point. It is noteworthy that the
Jones Act, the coastwise merchandise statute, provides: “[m]erchandise includes (1) merchandise
owned by the United States Government, a State, or a subdivision of a State; and (2) valueless
material.” 13 If the term “merchandise” encompasses valueless material for purposes of the
coastwise merchandise statute, surely it encompasses the rocket fairings, rocket boosters, [
], which are so far from valueless as to justify the elaborate undertakings to recover
them which are under consideration here. Indeed, in other contexts, CBP has previously held that
rocket booster components returned to earth and recovered from the ocean are merchandise. 14
For the vessel arrival and entry statutes to apply, the lading of [ ]and
rocket fairings aboard SpaceX’s vessels, as well as the landing of the rocket boosters upon the
drone vessels, must constitute the receipt of such merchandise by the vessels. See 19 U.S.C. §§
1433(a)(1)(D) and 1434(a)(4). SpaceX contends in its January 19, 2024 letter that [
]. 15 [
13
The definition ascribed to “merchandise” in 46 U.S.C. § 55102(a) is informative here. Cf. Tippins v. United States,
93 F.4th 1370, 1375 (Fed. Cir. 2024) (“In the absence of a statutory definition of [a given statutory] term …, we
consider its use and interpretation in other statutory contexts.”) (citing Azar v. Allina Health Services, 587 U.S. 566,
574 (2019) (“This Court does not lightly assume that Congress silently attaches different meanings to the same term in
the same or related statutes.”); Federal Aviation Administration v. Cooper, 566 U.S. 284, 291–92 (2012) (“[W]hen
Congress employs a term of art, ‘it presumably knows and adopts the cluster of ideas that were attached to each
borrowed word in the body of learning from which it was taken.’” (quoting Molzof v. United States, 502 U.S. 301, 307
(1992))); Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc., 866 F.3d 1330, 1335 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (“‘[W]hen Congress uses the
same language in two statutes having similar purposes, ... it is appropriate to presume that Congress intended that text
to have the same meaning in both statutes.’” (quoting Smith v. City of Jackson, 544 U.S. 228, 233 (2005))).
14
H332920 (July 19, 2023).
15
SpaceX’s Jan. 19, 2024 letter at p. 2 (“[
]").
Page 6 of 8
]
When interpreting the terms of a statute, we must “begin with the language employed by
Congress.” See e.g., Gazelle v. Shulkin, 868 F.3d 1006, 1010 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (quoting Engine
Mfrs. Ass’n v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., 541 U.S. 246, 252 (2004) (internal quotation
marks and citation omitted)). “In the absence of an express definition, we presume that Congress
intended to give those words their plain and ordinary meanings,” which “ordinary meaning may be
informed through the use of dictionaries.” Id. at 1010–11 (citing Asgrow Seed Co. v. Winterboer,
513 U.S. 179, 187 (1995); United States v. Rodgers, 466 U.S. 475, 479 (1984); Nielson v. Shinseki,
607 F.3d 802, 805–06 (Fed. Cir. 2010)).
Here, the term “received” in both 19 U.S.C. § 1433(a)(1)(D) and 19 U.S.C. § 1434(a)(4) is
not defined. Accordingly, in the absence of a statutory definition, we rely upon the ordinary
meaning. An ordinary definition of the term “receive” is “to come into possession of.” 16 Black’s
Law Dictionary defines the term “receive” to mean “to take into possession and control; accept
custody of; collect.” 17 Reflecting the Black’s Law Dictionary understanding, it is well established
in maritime law that the exercise of custody and control over cargo is sufficient to transfer liability
to the vessel. In Bulkley v. Naumkeag Steam Cotton Co., the Supreme Court ruled that placing
cargo in the custody of a vessel’s master was sufficient to transfer liability for the cargo to the
vessel. 18 More recently, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, citing the
Bulkley decision, ruled that “… the real issue in this case is whether the cargo ever passed into the
custody and control of the ship’s personnel.” 19 In refusing to attach liability for cargo to the vessel,
the Eastern District of Louisiana found that the critical element was that the cargo never passed out
of the custody of the plaintiff into the control of the vessel. 20 It is noteworthy that the consistent
theme in both the plain language understanding of the term “receive,” as well as the jurisprudence
regarding receipt of cargo aboard vessels, is the element of physical custody and control, not legal
ownership.
Moreover, both 19 U.S.C. § 1433(a)(1)(D) and 19 U.S.C. § 1434(a)(4) apply to vessels that
have “received merchandise while outside the territorial sea,” without specifying any limitation on
the origin or ownership of the merchandise that is received. This is in contrast to, for example, 19
U.S.C. § 1433(a)(1)(C), which specifically applies only to U.S. vessels “carrying foreign
merchandise for which entry has not been made” (emphasis added). By specifically using the term
“foreign merchandise” in another subdivision of the same statute but not in § 1433(a)(1)(D),
Congress indicated that, unlike § 1433(a)(1)(C), it intended § 1433(a)(1)(D) to apply whenever a
vessel receives – that is, comes into possession of or takes onboard – any merchandise while
outside the territorial sea, regardless of the origin or ownership of such merchandise. See, e.g.,
Russello v. United States, 464 U.S. 16, 23 (1983) (“Where Congress includes particular language in
one section of a statute but omits it in another section of the same Act, it is generally presumed that
16
“Receive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/receive, last accessed May 16, 2025; see also Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary
(1988) 982.
17
Black's Law Dictionary (6TH Ed. 1990) 1268.
18
Bulkley v. Naumkeag Steam Cotton Co., 65 U.S. (24 How.) 386 (1860).
19
Cont’l Grain Co. v. Toko Lines, 333 F. Supp. 1349, 1351 (E.D. La. 1971).
20
333 F. Supp. at 1352.
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Congress acts intentionally and purposely in the disparate inclusion or exclusion.”) (internal
quotation and alteration marks and citations omitted).
We further note that, because both 19 U.S.C. § 1433(a)(1)(D) and 19 U.S.C. § 1434(a)(4)
impose arrival reporting and vessel entry requirements on vessels that received merchandise while
outside the territorial sea, without regard to the ownership of the merchandise, in our prior rulings
addressing these statutes, CBP has never considered the ownership of merchandise to be relevant in
assessing whether a vessel has received merchandise. 21
Accordingly, consistent with the ordinary meaning and with the canons of statutory
construction discussed and applied above, the SpaceX vessels receive merchandise when they take
aboard the rocket fairings, rocket boosters, [ ]outside the territorial sea. Because
this receipt of merchandise is occurring while the vessels are outside the territorial sea, the arrival
reporting and formal entry requirements of 19 U.S.C. § 1433(a)(1)(D) and 19 U.S.C. § 1434(a)(4)
apply to SpaceX’s vessels, namely the droneship, support vessels [ ], upon
their return to a U.S. port. Because the towing vessel that tows the droneship laden with the
recovered rocket boosters does not receive merchandise, it is not subject to these requirements. 22
You are instructed to provide this decision to the Internal Advice requester no later than 60
days from the date of this decision. Sixty days from the date of the decision, the Office of Trade,
Regulations and Rulings, will make a public version of the decision (from which information
contained in brackets has been redacted) available to CBP personnel and to the public on the
Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) at https://rulings.cbp.gov/, which can be found
on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website at http://www.cbp.gov, and via other methods
of public distribution.
Sincerely,
W. Richmond Beevers
Chief, Cargo Security, Carriers and Restricted Merchandise Branch
Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
21
See H021763 (Apr. 18, 2008); H008396 (June 4, 2007); HQ 115134 (Sep. 27, 2000). These rulings concern supply
vessels required to report arrival and make entry after delivering supplies to platforms, etc. on the high seas owned by
the same entity.
22
See H016038 (Oct. 30, 2007); H115212 (Nov. 16, 2000).
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