Fanning
Fanning Island, also known as Tabuaeran, in the Republic of Kiribati, has become a frequent port of call for cruise ships serving the Hawaiian Islands. While nearly 1,100 miles south of Hawaii, it is more cost effective for the cruise lines to visit a foreign country than it is to pay port charges as a consequence of the Passenger Services Act. The coral Island is ring shaped and is very primitive and impoverished.
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Image courtesy of MODIS Rapid Response Project at NASA/GSFC
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The Passenger Services act says that “Foreign-flagged cruise ships may carry passengers from a U.S. port as long as they return them to the same port (a "cruise to nowhere"). Foreign vessels may also call at intermediate U.S. ports as long as no passenger permanently leaves the vessel at those ports and the vessel makes at least one call at a foreign port.” This is related to the Jones act, which states that a “U.S.-flag vessels must be built in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and documented under the laws of the United States. Documentation means ‘registered, enrolled, or licensed under the laws of the United States.’ In addition, all officers and 75% of the crew must be U.S. citizens. Vessels that satisfy these requirements comprise the "Jones Act fleet." For cruise lines to pay minimum US salaries make it hard to get happy employees, so cruise lines generally populate their crews with people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Sources http://www.hawaii.gov/dbedt/hecon/he7-99/psa.html http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/kr.html http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov