United States: Vessel Security Requirements After Port Calls In Cuba, Iran, Liberia And Certain Other Countries

New Development

The U.S. Coast Guard recently imposed new conditions of entry on vessels calling on the United States after port calls in Cuba, Iran, or other ports that it has determined do not maintain effective maritime security/anti-terrorism measures. These conditions will have a particular impact on vessels engaged in authorized: (1) transportation of licensed medicine, medical supplies, food, and agricultural commodities to countries subject to U.S. trade embargoes; or (2) responses to vessel casualties in the waters of such countries.

Background and Implications

The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA) authorized the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to impose conditions of entry on vessels requesting entry into the United States arriving from ports that are not maintaining effective anti-terrorism measures. The Secretary then delegated this authority to the Coast Guard. Cuban ports are the most recent addition to the list of ports that the Coast Guard believes maintain insufficient maritime security or anti-terrorism measures. The Coast Guard has identified ports in the following countries as not maintaining effective antiterrorism measures:

• Cuba
  
  
• Cameroon (with certain exceptions)
  
  
• Equatorial Guinea (with certain exceptions)
  
  
• Guinea-Bissau
  
  
• Indonesia (with certain exceptions)
  
  
• Iran
  
  
• Liberia (except the Firestone Facility)
  
  
• Mauritania (except Chinguetti Terminal)
  
  
• Syria
  
  

The conditions of entry for vessels calling on these ports, in general, require that any vessel calling on the United States after visiting such ports during its last five port calls must:

• implement certain measures under the ship's security plan required by MTSA and the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code (equivalent to Maritime Security Level 2) while in one of these ports;
  
  

• 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 the vessel is in such ports (although guards may be provided by the ship's crew, in some instances additional crewmembers or an outside security force may be required to ensure that limits on maximum hours of work/minimum hours of rest are honored);
  
  
• attempt to execute a Declara - tion of Security pursuant to the ISPS Code while in such ports;
  
  
• log all security actions in the ship's log;
  
  
• report actions taken to the cognizant Coast Guard Captain of the Port prior to arrival in U.S. waters (this could be done in the vessel's advance notice of arrival); and
  
  
• ensure, while in U.S. ports, that each access point to the ship is guarded by armed, private security guards (in a number acceptable to the Captain of the Port) who have total visibility of the exterior (both landside and waterside) of the vessel.
  
  

Recent Port Security Advisories issued by the Coast Guard indicate that the Coast Guard will board any vessel entering U.S. waters at sea if it recently visited one of the targeted ports (other than Monrovia, Liberia in certain circumstances) to ensure that the vessel undertook the required security measures. If the Coast Guard determines that the vessel failed to properly implement the measures required to be taken while in the targeted port (i.e., the first five measures listed above), then the vessel may be denied entry into the United States. For those vessels that can demonstrate and document the required security compliance while in the targeted port, the Coast Guard may waive the requirement for armed security while in U.S. ports. Regardless, however, boardings at sea are likely to cause vessel delays that may have been unanticipated.

One impact of the new Coast Guard requirements will be increased security costs and delays for vessels returning to or entering the United States after engaging in transportation of authorized exports of medicine, medical supplies, food and agricultural commodities to countries such as Cuba, Iran and Syria that are otherwise subject to U.S. trade embargoes. U.S. persons and vessels engaging in such trade must be licensed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and in certain circumstances foreign-flag vessels also must obtain such licenses. Vessels engaged in licensed emergency towage and salvage operations or other authorized casualty response in these countries likewise will be affected by the new Coast Guard requirements, which apply in addition to existing Coast Guard permit require - ments for U.S.-flag vessels, and vessels without nationality, less than 100 meters in length, located within U.S. territorial waters and intending to engage in such activities in Cuban waters.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Owners and operators of vessels trading into the United States must be aware of these security measures and take the appropriate actions identified in this advisory to ensure that their vessels avoid unnecessary delays and expenses. Owners and operators seeking BIS or OFAC authorization for transportation transactions involving U.S. embargoed countries subject to the new Coast Guard requirements should understand that the BIS and OFAC licenses are required in addition to, and do not constitute a waiver of, any applicable Coast Guard security and permit requirements.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.