Per the above...
“The applicable to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regulation regarding penalties for violating the PVSA is found in 19 CFR ยง 4.80, which provides that “[t]he penalty imposed for the unlawful transportation of passengers between coastwise points is $300.00 for each passenger landed on or before November 2, 2015 and $778.00 for each passenger so transported and landed after November 2, 2015 (46 U.S.C. 55103, as adjusted by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015). See Federal Register.”
Thank you, Congress.
Thank you for the reference.
I read the code referenced 46 USC 55103 and it talks about what the vessel may not do. It does not say that the passenger will be fined.
As an parallel, imagine a city cop ticketing a tax passenger for getting out in a bus zone. But the law say that the taxi company shall not net out passengers in a bus zone.
To me, this feels like the company is trying to make the passenger pay for their fine.