The Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) has nixed plans to start passenger ferry between Miami and Havana, Cuba. According to a letter sent to a company requesting such service, OFAC said that, after consulting with the State Department, such service would be “beyond the scope of current policy.”

It’s not clear what it means to say that ferry service is beyond the scope of current policy. Certainly, current policy permits passenger service, although only air carriers are currently licensed to provide service to Cuba. Nor does the Cuban Democracy Act, which imposes restrictions on vessels traveling to and from Cuba, prohibit the authorization of ferry service. It specifically permits such traffic if authorized by OFAC.

So the only conclusion that can be drawn is that only people who can afford air fare should be permitted to travel to Cuba. We wouldn’t want ordinary riffraff to travel to Cuba on a low-cost ferry.

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