2019-06106. Imposition of Conditions of Entry on Certain Vessels Arriving to the United States From the Republic of Seychelles

AGENCY:

Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Coast Guard announces that it will impose conditions of entry on vessels arriving from ports in the Republic of Seychelles. Conditions of entry are intended to protect the United States from vessels arriving from countries that have been found to have deficient anti-terrorism port measures in place.

DATES:

The policy announced in this notice will become effective April 12, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For information about this document, call or email Ezekiel Lyons, International Port Security Evaluation Division, United States Coast Guard, telephone [phone], [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Discussion

The authority for this notice is in 5 U.S.C. 552(a), 46 U.S.C. 70110, and Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1(II)(97.f). As delegated, section 70110(a) authorizes the Coast Guard to impose conditions of entry on vessels arriving in U.S. waters from ports that the Coast Guard has found to have deficient anti-terrorism measures.

On April 02, 2018, the Coast Guard found that ports in the Republic of Seychelles failed to maintain effective anti-terrorism measures in its ports and that the Republic of Seychelles's designated authority's oversight, access control measures, cargo control measures, and facility monitoring measures are all deficient.

On May 28, 2018, as required by 46 U.S.C. 70109, the Republic of Seychelles was notified of this determination, provided recommendations for improving antiterrorism measures, and given 90 days to respond. In August 2018, the Coast Guard re-visited the Republic of Seychelles to review Seychelles's progress on correcting the security deficiencies. The Coast Guard determined that Seychelles failed to maintain effective anti-terrorism measures in its port facilities.

Accordingly, beginning April 12, 2019, the conditions of entry shown in Table 1 will apply to any vessel that visited a port in the Republic of Seychelles in its last five port calls.

Table 1—Conditions of Entry for Vessels Visiting Ports in the Republic of Seychelles

No.	Each vessel must:
1	Implement measures per the vessel's security plan equivalent to Security Level 2 while in a port in the Republic of Seychelles. As defined in the ISPS Code and incorporated herein, “Security Level 2” refers to the “level for which appropriate additional protective security measures shall be maintained for a period of time as a result of heightened risk of a security incident.”
2	Ensure that each access point to the vessel is guarded and that the guards have total visibility of the exterior (both landside and waterside) of the vessel while the vessel is in ports in the Republic of Seychelles.
3	Guards may be provided by the vessel's crew; however, additional crewmembers should be placed on the vessel 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 vessel's master and Company Security Officer. As defined in the ISPS Code and incorporated herein, “Company Security Officer” refers to the “person designated by the Company for ensuring that a ship security assessment is carried out; that a ship security plan is developed, submitted for approval, and thereafter implemented and maintained and for liaison with port facility security officers and the ship security officer.”
4	Attempt to execute a Declaration of Security while in a port in the Republic of Seychelles.
5	Log all security actions in the vessel's security records.
6	Report actions taken to the cognizant Coast Guard Captain of the Port (COTP) prior to arrival into U.S. waters.
7	In addition, based on the findings of the Coast Guard boarding or examination, the vessel may be required to ensure that each access point to the vessel 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 has to be acceptable to the cognizant COTP prior to the vessel's arrival.

The following countries do not maintain effective anti-terrorism measures in their ports and are therefore subject to conditions of entry: The Republic of Seychelles, Cambodia, Cameroon, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Micronesia, Nauru, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Syria, Timor-Leste, Venezuela, and Yemen. The current Port Security Advisory is available at: https://www.dco.uscg.mil/​Our-Organization/​Assistant-Commandant-for-Prevention-Policy-CG-5P/​International-Domestic-Port-Assessment/​.

Dated: March 13, 2019.

Daniel B. Abel,

Vice Admiral USCG, Deputy Commandant for Operations.