If the Captain Has a Stroke, Does the Coast Guard Need to Know?

I own a large motoryacht and I employ a licensed captain to operate and manage the boat. The captain has a number of medical restrictions on his license, and he recently had a stroke. Can you give me some idea how this will affect his license? And, if he doesn’t report the stroke to the Coast Guard, should I as the vessel owner make a report? This question raises a number of very good questions. The reader has indicated that he owns a private yacht, but he is concerned about the Coast Guard license held by his hired captain. As we have noted in previous installments of this column, anyone who operates a boat that carries passengers or cargo for hire must hold a current Coast Guard license. The Coast Guard’s jurisdiction also extends to any circumstance where an employer or an insurance company requires the boat operator to be licensed as a condition of employment. As such, the Coast Guard will probably have jurisdiction over the operator of the yacht described in the reader’s question, even though it is a private yacht that does not carry paying passengers. The Coast Guard will therefore be able to restrict the use of...