Port of San Diego to host outreach on illegal charters

SAN DIEGO — The Port of San Diego’s Harbor Police Department will hold an outreach session at the port district’s headquarters, June 4, to receive public input on illegal vessel charters. The outreach session comes more than one year after a coalition of agencies stated they would collectively address the illegal charter issue in San Diego Bay. For-hire passenger vessels have been under fire in recent years, as reports of individuals allegedly offering their boats, at a cost, to the public for boating or fishing excursions have increased. Officials with the Port of San Diego, U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies began the process of crafting policies to regulate illegal for-hire charter services in early 2017. Such efforts, however, have yet to yield substantive results. A story in The Log’s April 20-May 3 issue found charter services who follow the rules continue to compete with allegedly illegal operators, with no new policies created. Changes to the port’s policy on illegal charters continue to be fleshed out, the port district told The Log. The Port of San Diego issued the following statement on illegal charters: “Currently, there are both legal and illegal vessel charters operating in San Diego Bay. The goal of better regulation is to...