As we know, since President Obama has taken office, he has greatly expanded the kinds of travel that is allowed to the island of Cuba. He has pleased many who had been greatly restricted in their travels to visit relatives and on top of that, many other Americans have had the chance to visit Cuba and see things with their own eyes taking away experiences that would have been prohibited just a few short years ago under former President Bush's administration. The close relationship that Bush has with the anti-engagement crowd caused him to pursue a mean spirited policy which caused strain on families divided by a narrow stretch of water, people so close yet kept so far away. Obama's reversal of the travel restrictions has opened new doors and it seems to be a policy that he defends. In December, some congressional Republicans attempted to add to a major bill legislation to turn back the clock and re-institute Bush's policy and the White House made it clear that such a thing was unacceptable. That initiative was dropped and the bill was passed.
Given the presidents defense of this expanded, although still limited travel, we have to wonder about the OFAC's handling of applications. Adam Szubin is the director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control. He was appointed by the former president Bush in 2006. And although many licenses have been granted over the past year, it has been reported that there is a backlog of applications, only about 1/3 of the applications have been approved. I know that this is an election year and that means that the blazing hot issue of Cuba is a difficult one for politicians, but this can hardly explain the lethargic work of the OFAC. No regulations need to be changed to act on the applications in limbo, existing rules should suffice for providing licenses to those organizations and companies that fall into the existing approved categories.
One regulation, 31 CFR 515.572, specifically states that "persons arranging through transportation to Cuba; persons chartering an aircraft or vessel on behalf of others in Cuba" is within what is acceptable under the laws. One such company offering travel by sea, Havana Ferry Partners LLC., has had an application in limbo since the middle of 2010. This is one of the companies mentioned in the article that had caught my attention Saturday morning. Havana Ferry isn't offering flights to Cuba, but travel by a sea vessel. Given the increased travel to the island, I would imagine that another option for getting to the island would be welcomed. And since a vessel can be considered a boat, that shouldn't be a problem. If the OFAC doesn't want to consider a boat a vessel, one has to question why the regulation makes a distinction between an aircraft and a vessel. Certainly a road trip to the island isn't possible, so what other vessel would the regulation be referring to? A spaceship?!
I also wonder about the possibility of the Bush appointee having some sort of unwillingness to implement fully his new boss' policy. We can see how the anti-engagement crowd who wishes for a return to the previous administration's policies holds up Obama appointees on the basis of them "being to soft on Cuba". Is it possible that the OFAC suffers from a political appointee by the hardliner Bush, and therefore it is less that enthusiastic to getting around to catching up with the opportunities opened by the Obama administration? I'm just wondering. I'm sure that endless bureaucratic excuses would be made before such an admission would be made.
With the upcoming trip to Cuba by the Pope, and the great number of people interested in traveling from the U.S. to Cuba to witness the event, Havana Ferry has resubmitted its application to provide travel to the island. It's ability to transport a larger number of people than an airplane makes it a unique asset for people wishing to be on the island for the Pope's visit. Certainly having this added form of transportation would help provide religious travel to the island as President Obama supports. Will the OFAC drag its feet or will it help implement Obama's goals?
I reached out to Havana Ferry and asked them if the had anything that they felt like adding to the original article that I had read. I am appreciative that they responded to me and provided me with some information. They seem to be frustrated with the process, yet they do seem to keep an optimistic view.
First, here is a letter from Havana Ferry to the Licensing Division at the OFAC:
Licensing Division
Mr. Jeffrey R. Braunger
Office of Foreign Assets Control
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington D.C. 20220
Dear Mr. Braunger, Case # CU-80304
Our company, Havana Ferry Partners LLC submitted to your office our application for OFAC Licensing on July, 15, 2010 and the USPS /RRR was returned to us as delivered.
You will find our re-application in this correspondence.
Havana Ferry Partners, LLC (“Havana Ferry”) is seeking authorization as a Travel Service Provider, 31 CFR 515.572(a)(1) and as a Carrier Service Provider, 31 CFR 515.572(a)(2) of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (“CACRs”).
Havana Ferry wishes to primarily provide transportation via sea-going vessels to Cuban-Americans to visit close relatives in Cuba. Havana Ferry would also offer transportation to other persons authorized to travel to Cuba under various categories of OFAC licenses. Please note that 31 CFR 515.572 specifically authorizes “persons chartering an aircraft or vessel” (515572 (a) (1) emphasis added), and “carrier services by aircraft or vessels incidental to their non-scheduled flights or voyages to, from, or within Cuba” (515572 (a) (2) emphasis added).
We fully support the President Obama’s goals of our increased understanding with the Cuban people through people to people contacts. We wish to be able to provide lower cost transportation, thereby opening travel to Cuba to more people wishing to go. The airlines could be made safer by not having to carry ‘load limit’ cargo of returning passengers. Under current regulations we legally can do so. We seek OFAC approval for our application.
We also support the U.S. government’s goals as stated by Ricardo Zuniga, the State Department's acting coordinator for Cuban affairs in his March 2010 affidavit (Martinez v. Republic of Cuba et al, Florida Southern District Court) of “easing family travel between the two countries, improving the flow of information across the Florida Straits and promoting such things as religious, artistic and sporting events and exchanges.” To paraphrase Mr. Zuniga, we believe that providing a passenger ferry service to Cuba, as well as direct flights, “are vital for maintaining contacts that are in the national interest."
Respectfully,
Leonard D. Moecklin Sr.
V/P Havana Ferry Partners LLC
havanaferrypartners@earthlink.net
Mr. Jeffrey R. Braunger
Office of Foreign Assets Control
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington D.C. 20220
Dear Mr. Braunger, Case # CU-80304
Our company, Havana Ferry Partners LLC submitted to your office our application for OFAC Licensing on July, 15, 2010 and the USPS /RRR was returned to us as delivered.
You will find our re-application in this correspondence.
Havana Ferry Partners, LLC (“Havana Ferry”) is seeking authorization as a Travel Service Provider, 31 CFR 515.572(a)(1) and as a Carrier Service Provider, 31 CFR 515.572(a)(2) of the Cuban Assets Control Regulations (“CACRs”).
Havana Ferry wishes to primarily provide transportation via sea-going vessels to Cuban-Americans to visit close relatives in Cuba. Havana Ferry would also offer transportation to other persons authorized to travel to Cuba under various categories of OFAC licenses. Please note that 31 CFR 515.572 specifically authorizes “persons chartering an aircraft or vessel” (515572 (a) (1) emphasis added), and “carrier services by aircraft or vessels incidental to their non-scheduled flights or voyages to, from, or within Cuba” (515572 (a) (2) emphasis added).
We fully support the President Obama’s goals of our increased understanding with the Cuban people through people to people contacts. We wish to be able to provide lower cost transportation, thereby opening travel to Cuba to more people wishing to go. The airlines could be made safer by not having to carry ‘load limit’ cargo of returning passengers. Under current regulations we legally can do so. We seek OFAC approval for our application.
We also support the U.S. government’s goals as stated by Ricardo Zuniga, the State Department's acting coordinator for Cuban affairs in his March 2010 affidavit (Martinez v. Republic of Cuba et al, Florida Southern District Court) of “easing family travel between the two countries, improving the flow of information across the Florida Straits and promoting such things as religious, artistic and sporting events and exchanges.” To paraphrase Mr. Zuniga, we believe that providing a passenger ferry service to Cuba, as well as direct flights, “are vital for maintaining contacts that are in the national interest."
Respectfully,
Leonard D. Moecklin Sr.
V/P Havana Ferry Partners LLC
havanaferrypartners@earthlink.net
Also there is a letter from Havana Ferry's vice-president, Jorge Fernandez, who is also a founder of the Humanitarian group Hope for Cuba to the reporter who wrote the article I read yesterday, Doreen Hemlock:
Dear Ms. Hemlock;
On behalf of the principals of Havana Ferry Partners LLC, I applaud your recent article for bringing awareness relative to our efforts to bring a much needed ferry passenger service from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and other Florida ports to Cuba.
We are truly very frustrated, but optimistic that we will succeed in our efforts to obtain the necessary OFAC approvals as well as those from Treasury in the near future for the simple reason that this service is needed and will compliment the expanding number of US airports being granted permission to offer direct flights to Cuba. Our passenger ferry service will offer an alternative mode of transportation for passengers going to Cuba that would be more economical and at the same time offer the opportunity for these passengers to bring along more baggage and humanitarian supplies to the island nation. Groups that would benefit the most would be those religious and university groups that can now travel under a general licence; and like most non-profit organizations, they usually travel in larger groups and have limited resources for their trips. The Havana Ferry Partners vessels will be able to better accommodate these organization by offering more capacity, comfort, and savings.
Another benefit from our ferry operations will be the creation 100's of new jobs to the Ft.Lauderdale area.
As for any possible objections to our proposed passenger ferry service to Cuba from the Cuban-America community in Southern Florida, as a Cuban-American myself that was born in Havana, Cuba , I can assure you that based on the preliminary interviews I have conducted myself with leading Cuban-Americans from the Miami-Ft.Lauderdale area and related organizations, the response has been very positive and supportive.Accordingly, we cannot believe that this very worthwhile and needed service would be one that the "politicians" would be afraid to embrace.
In closing, we will stay focused on our mission that is to provide a ferry passenger service that is much needed and will continue pushing forward aggressively with the appropriate agencies in Washington until we obtain the necessary OFAC licenses. We truly believe that Washington has nothing to fear by granting the approvals requested and will stay consistent with this administrations commitment to expand the travel service to Cuba as demonstrated by their recent announcements of approving over 9 more US airports to offer direct flights to Cuba...and yes, we expect our approvals before the next elections.
Mr.Jorge Ignacio Fernandez
Vice President, Corporate Development &
Humanitarian Releif Services
Havana Ferry Partners, LLC
As we can see, it would be in the interest of the Obama administration to see that the OFAC doesn't continue to drag its feet any longer. Mr. Szubin needs to make sure that he is doing his job the way that his boss desires it to be done. Hopefully this backlog, reffered to in the press as a "black hole", is dealt with and the pending licenses, all of them that should be approved, are finally taken out of the desk drawers and worked on to maximize President Obama's loosening of travel. In my view, the entire travel ban should be done away with as should the embargo as important steps to improve the half century stalemate between the countries of Cuba and the United States.
Here is a link to the original article by Doreen Hemlock:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-cuba-ferry-business-20120212,0,7037791.story
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