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714. May an individual authorized traveler take a commercial passenger ferry or use his or her private boat to travel to Cuba?

Answer

The export or reexport to Cuba of items subject to the EAR, including commercial vessels used to provide carrier services and private vessels, requires separate authorization from the Department of Commerce. See 31 CFR § 515.533. For a complete description of BIS’s regulatory requirements, see BIS’s Cuba webpage.

While 31 CFR § 515.572 generally authorizes the provision of carrier services, OFAC amended its regulations effective June 5, 2019 to highlight the separate BIS requirements. For a complete description of what the OFAC general license authorizes and the restrictions that apply, see 31 CFR § 515.572.

Date Released
September 6, 2019