CG Imposes Conditions of Entry for Vessels from Republic of Yemen
The Coast Guard issued a notice, scheduled for the Sept. 4 Federal Register, saying ports in the Republic of Yemen are not maintaining effective anti-terrorism measures and that it will impose conditions of entry on vessels arriving from Yemen, with the exception of vessels coming from the Ash Shihr Terminal, the Balhaf LNG Terminal and the Port of Hodeidah. The Coast Guard's determination includes an assessment that the Republic of Yemen presents significant risk of introducing instruments of terror into international maritime commerce, and that there are significant deficiencies in the country's legal regime, designated authority oversight, access control and cargo control. The Republic of Yemen has not responded to the Coast Guard's communications on the matter.
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(The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107--295) authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security to impose conditions of entry on vessels requesting entry into the U.S. arriving from ports that are not maintaining effective anti-terrorism measures, and the Coast Guard has been delegated the authority to carry out such measures.)
Actions Required by Vessels
The following actions take effect for vessels arriving in the U.S., effective Sept. 18, after visiting ports in Yemen, except the above-mentioned terminals and port, as one of their last five ports of call as a condition of entry into U.S. ports. Such vessels must:
- implement ship security plan measures equivalent to Security Level 2 while in a port in Yemen;
- ensure that each access point to the ship is guarded and that the guards have total visibility of the exterior (both landside and waterside) of the vessel while it is in ports in Yemen. Guards may be provided by the ship's crew; however, additional crewmembers should be placed on the ship if necessary to ensure that limits on maximum hours of work are not exceeded and/or minimum hours of rest are met, or provided by outside security forces approved by the ship's master and Company Security Officer;
- attempt to execute a Declaration of Security while in a port in the republic of Yemen; log all security actions in the ship's log; and
- report actions taken to the cognizant Coast Guard Captain of the Port prior to arrival into U.S. waters.
Actions Required by Vessels in U.S. Ports
In addition, based on the findings of the Coast Guard boarding or examination, vessels may be required to ensure that each access point to the ship is guarded by armed, private security guards and that they have total visibility of the exterior (both landside and waterside) of the vessel while in U.S. ports. The number and position of the guards must be acceptable to the cognizant Coast Guard Captain of the Port prior to the vessel's arrival.
16 Other Countries Have Ports Not Maintaining Effective Anti-Terrorism Measures
With this notice, the current list of countries not maintaining effective anti-terrorism measures is as follows: Cambodia, Cameroon, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Iran, Liberia, Madagascar, Sao Tome and Principe, Syria, Timor-Leste, and Venezuela.
(See ITT's Online Archives 08041720, for summary of the Coast Guard easing conditions of entry for vessels that visited certain ports during "last five port calls," etc.)