Alleged violation of Captain of Port Order leads to indictment, arrest of Florida woman

FLORIDA – A Florida woman has been indicted and arrested for allegedly violating a U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port Order.

Colleen Marie Kilnapp, 56, of Boca Raton, Fla., has made her first appearance in federal court to face charges that she violated a Captain of the Port Order issued by U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Captain of the Port, Miami, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said in an announcement.

A South Florida federal grand jury indicted Kilnapp on January 26, 2023, charging her with three counts of Violating a Captain of the Port Order. If convicted, she faces up to six years in prison.

According to indictment allegations, on February 10, 2020, Kilnapp was issued an order of the USCG Captain of the Port, Miami, restricting her vessel, the COLLEEN MARIE, from operating commercially as the vessel reportedly did not have a USCG Certificate of Inspection.

Allegedly, USCG boarding teams subsequently found the COLLEEN MARIE operating as an illegal passenger vessel on three different occasions after Kilnapp was issued the order.

United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe and Special Agent in Charge Zinnia James, USCG Investigative Service (CGIS) Southeast Region, made the announcement.

CGIS investigated this case with assistance from USCG Sector Miami. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc Anton is prosecuting it.

An indictment contains mere allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-CR-60025.