Board of Contract Appeals General Services Administration Washington, D.C. 20405 ________________________________ June 30, 1999 ________________________________ GSBCA 14859-RELO In the Matter of THEDORE D. SERGENT Thedore D. Sergent, St. Augustine, FL, Claimant. Judy Hughes, Travel Policy, Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Columbus, OH, appearing for Department of Defense. WILLIAMS, Board Judge. Claimant, a civilian logistics management specialist with the Department of the Navy, seeks reimbursement of certain expenses incurred in connection with the movement of his yacht, his primary residence, to his new permanent duty station. At issue are expenses totaling $1873.60 for gasoline purchased the day of arrival, an insurance premium covering the movement of the yacht in Atlantic coastal waters, and repairs resulting from damages sustained by the craft when it ran aground while in transit.[foot #] 1 For the reasons discussed below, we conclude that the agency may reimburse claimant for the gasoline and a portion of the insurance premium, but we lack jurisdiction over the claim for damage during transit. Background In 1996, claimant was transferred from the Naval Air Systems Command, Arlington, Virginia, to the Naval Depot (NADEP), Naval Air Station, in Jacksonville, Florida. His travel orders, issued November 21, 1996, authorized a travel advance of $8000 for movement of yacht to include port fees, fuel, captain/crew and miscellaneous expenses vice household goods shipment from his residence in Deale, Maryland, to Jacksonville, Florida. Claimant paid a $381 insurance premium to obtain an endorsement to cover navigating in United States Atlantic coastal waters from ----------- FOOTNOTE BEGINS --------- [foot #] 1 Since the filing of this claim, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) has allowed $619 for the captain's and crewman's meals. ----------- FOOTNOTE ENDS ----------- November 30, 1996, to February 27, 1997.[foot #] 2 Here, the endorsement was necessary because the yacht had to travel on open ocean waters outside the cruising limits under claimant's standard insurance. According to the record, endorsements are not issued for a given trip but rather for a specified period of time, and there are no refunds for terminating an endorsement prior to the specified period. Claimant obtained the endorsement for a three-month period, from November 30 to February 27. The primary reason claimant selected such a long time frame for the endorsement was his recent back surgery and the resultant uncertainty about his ability to travel. Claimant explained: "Not having a firm date for my extensive home recovery period to end, my transfer to [Jacksonville] pending, no medical release from doctors, and not knowing when I would be physically capable to travel, thereby making my yacht home vacant so it could be moved . . . are several reasons." Claimant also took into account the time needed to secure and schedule a qualified captain and crew, locate temporary docks and a permanent resettling dockage in Jacksonville, as well as uncertainties due to weather, possible grounding or breakdown, and questions as to how many miles the captain and crew would travel each day. Claimant hired a Coast Guard-licensed captain who, with one crew member, piloted the yacht from Deale, Maryland, to Jacksonville, Florida, over a nine-day period from November 30, to December 8, 1996. On December 7, 1996, the yacht ran aground at Ternadina Beach, Florida, and required towing when it sustained propeller damage. Claimant paid $1123.60 for towing, hauling, repairs to the boat, and remanufacturing and freight charges for the damaged propellers. Claimant incurred fuel expenses on each of the nine days of the trip, with the exception of the seventh day. The fuel charge for the ninth day was $369; this represented the cost of 248 gallons of fuel used in going from Ternadina Beach to Jacksonville on December 7. Claimant did not refuel the yacht on the day it arrived in Jacksonville because the crew had to catch a flight at 4:15 p.m. that afternoon. The disbursing officer disallowed the $369 fuel charge because it was procured for the boat in the area of the new permanent duty station. The agency also disallowed $381 which appeared to be for insurance coverage well beyond the transit time," as well as costs related to the repairs. ----------- FOOTNOTE BEGINS --------- [foot #] 2 An endorsement is insurance for navigating a specific area. Geographic cruising limits are identified in each endorsement, and a vessel is confined to waters specified in the endorsement. ----------- FOOTNOTE ENDS ----------- Discussion The Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) provides that relocating employees who are entitled to transportation of their household goods shall, instead of such transportation, be entitled to an allowance for the transportation of a mobile home or boat which serves as the employee s primary residence. 41 CFR 302-1.4(i), 7.1(a); Joint Travel Regulations (JTR) C10001.C.5. Specifically, Section 302-7.3 of the FTR, Computation of Allowances, provides, in pertinent part: (b) Transportation by private means . . . . (2) Transportation over-water. When a boat used as a primary residence is transported over-water, an allowance for transportation costs shall include, but not be limited to: (i) The cost of fuel and oil used for propulsion of the boat; (ii) The cost of pilots or navigators in the open water; (iii) The cost of a crew; (iv) Charges for harbor pilots; (v) The cost of docking fees incurred in transit; (vi) Harbor or port fees and similar charges related to entry in and navigation through ports; and (vii) The cost of towing, whether in tow or towing by pushing from behind.[[foot #] 3] Insurance The insurance premium for the endorsement to permit the yacht to travel in United States Atlantic coastal waters is, in our view, a cost of transporting the yacht. Reimbursement of such a cost would be allowable, if reasonable and if the duration of the endorsement is reasonably related to that of the anticipated trip, given the uncertainties attributable to the transportation itself. Accord Clifford Sieling, GSBCA 14137-RELO, 98-1 BCA 29,600. Here, claimant obtained a three-month endorsement for a trip which ultimately took only nine days, even with a delay for running aground and obtaining ----------- FOOTNOTE BEGINS --------- [foot #] 3 The JTR contains similar language in Section C10001.C.5. ----------- FOOTNOTE ENDS ----------- repairs. Other than generalized statements about uncertainty of when he could commence transporting the yacht due to his health, claimant has not demonstrated why it was necessary for the endorsement to be obtained for this length of time. Rather, the limited evidence of record suggests that an endorsement for a shorter time would have been sufficient for claimant to prepare the vessel, secure a captain and crew, make dockage arrangements, and complete the trip, considering the distance and the vagaries of weather. Although the trip only took nine days, including an accident in transit, we believe that limiting reimbursement for the endorsement to that time period would not take into account the realities of transporting a vessel. Considering the valid transportation-related factors enumerated above and the record as a whole, we conclude that a one-month period would be a reasonable time frame for coverage under the endorsement. This would allow for transportation of the vessel and related contingencies. While we are sympathetic to claimant's medical condition, we do not deem uncertainties associated with that condition to be a proper basis to increase both the length of the endorsement and the associated cost chargeable to the Government for transporting the vessel. The record does not indicate that claimant awaited a medical release after securing the endorsement before transporting the yacht. Rather, claimant's travel authorization was dated November 26, his reporting date in Jacksonville was December 8, the transportation of the yacht commenced on November 30, and the endorsement was issued on December 5, 1996, with an effective date of November 30, 1996. This sequence of events does not support a conclusion that claimant's health necessitated a prolonged period before travel could begin. Claimant can recover the documented cost of a one-month endorsement, from November 30 to December 30, 1996, for the specified geographic area.[foot #] 4 Gasoline The weight of the evidence suggests that the fuel cost incurred on the day after arrival represented fuel consumed during travel between Deale and Jacksonville. As such the fuel charge is recoverable, since it was used for propulsion of the boat, as permitted under FTR 302-7.3 and JTR C10001.C.5. ----------- FOOTNOTE BEGINS --------- [foot #] 4 FTR 302-7.3(e) lists among unallowable costs the costs of insurance for valuation of mobile homes above carriers maximum liabilities, or charges designated in the tariffs as Special Service. We do not believe that this provision operates as a bar to claimant s request, since the endorsement here was not related to the valuation of the yacht or to special services. Rather, the endorsement was the type of cost a reasonable person would typically incur in conjunction with the transportation to a new duty station of a boat used as a residence. ----------- FOOTNOTE ENDS ----------- Claim for Repairs, Towing, Hauling, and Remanufacturing Claimant's claim for damages to his boat is not within this Board's delegation of authority, which is to settle claims by federal civilian employees for relocation expenses incident to the transfer of duty station. Therefore, this Board lacks the authority to consider claimant's claim for the damages to his boat.[foot #] 5 31 U.S.C. 3702(a) (1994). Claims by employees for loss or damage incident to a move are covered by another law -- the Military Personnel and Civilian Employees' Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3721. Dale G. Luckman, GSBCA 14874-RELO (May 10, 1999); Charles A. Miller, GSBCA 13679-RELO, 97-1 BCA 28,865. That law vests claims settlement authority in agency heads, not this Board. Id. Decision The claim is granted in part. Claimant may recover the claimed fuel charge and a portion of the cost of the endorsement covering a one-month period. ________________________________ MARY ELLEN COSTER WILLIAMS Board Judge ----------- FOOTNOTE BEGINS --------- [foot #] 5 Towing charges claimant seeks here resulted from the yacht's running aground; towing was not the means of transporting the vessel. Cf. 41 CFR 302-7.3(b)(2)(vii) ___ (reimbursement for towing permitted if that is the mode of transportation).