TITLE
Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to transfer ownership of the American Pride Tall Ship from the City of Long Beach to the Los Angeles Maritime Institute (LAMI), a California non-profit corporation, dba Children’s Maritime Institute; and, to execute all documents necessary to enter into a permit with LAMI, for vessel mooring and operations at Rainbow Harbor, for a ten year term, with two, five-year renewal options, at the discretion of the City Manager. (District 2)
DISCUSSION
The American Pride Tall Ship (Tall Ship) is a 130-foot three-mast schooner, which was designated in 2008 as the official Tall Ship of the City of Long Beach (City) (Attachment 1). From 1998 through 2016, the Tall Ship operated out of Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach, providing various educational opportunities to local youth, with a focus on living history, watershed programs, and marine biology (Attachment 2). During this period, the Tall Ship was owned by the American Heritage Marine Institute, LLC (American Heritage).
In August 2016, American Heritage informed the City that they were ceasing operations. In the months that followed, they considered several options to either sell or donate the Tall Ship, with the goal of ultimately donating it to a non-profit organization that accepts donated assets for resale to fund charitable causes. Unfortunately, American Heritage was unsuccessful in identifying a buyer for the Tall Ship, at which point they became non-responsive to the City’s repeated requests for payment of guest docking fees, evidence of insurance, and its future plans for the Tall Ship.
On January 31, 2017, the United States Coast Guard, Certificate of Inspection (COI), expired for lack of the required hull inspection. Until the COI is reinstated, the Tall Ship is not allowed to operate as a passenger vessel. In addition to the overdue hull inspection, various vessel repairs and deferred maintenance requirements ...
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