82 FR 39609 - Imposition of Conditions of Entry for Certain Vessels Arriving to the United States From the Federated States of Micronesia

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Coast Guard

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 160 (August 21, 2017)

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

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 160 (Monday, August 21, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39609-39610]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-17652]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2017-0464]


Imposition of Conditions of Entry for Certain Vessels Arriving to 
the United States From the Federated States of Micronesia

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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

DATES: The policy announced in this notice will become applicable 
September 5, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information about this document 
call or email Juliet Hudson, International Port Security Evaluation 
Division, United States Coast Guard, telephone 202-372-1173, 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Discussion

    The authority for this notice is 5 U.S.C. 552(a) (``Administrative 
Procedure Act''), 46 U.S.C. 70110 (``Maritime Transportation Security 
Act''), 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 not found to maintain effective 
anti-terrorism measures.
    On May 3, 2016 the Coast Guard found that ports in the Federated 
States of Micronesia failed to maintain effective anti-terrorism 
measures and that the Federated States of Microneisa's designated 
authority oversight, access control, security monitoring, security 
training programs, and security plans drills and exercises are all 
deficient.
    On July 7, 2016, as required by 46 U.S.C. 70109, the Federated 
States of Micronesia was notified of this determination and given 
recommendations for improving antiterrorism measures and 90 days to 
respond. To date, we cannot confirm that the Federated States of 
Micronesia has corrected the identified deficiencies.
    Accordingly, beginning September 5, 2017, the conditions of entry 
shown in Table 1 will apply to any vessel that visited a port in the 
Federated States of Micronesia in its last five port calls.

Table 1--Conditions of Entry for Vessels Visiting Ports in the Federated
                          States of Micronesia
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        No.                           Each vessel must:
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1..................  Implement measures per the vessel's security plan
                      equivalent to Security Level 2 while in a port in
                      the Federated States of Micronesia. 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
                      Federated States of Micronesia.

[[Page 39610]]

 
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 Federated States of Micronesia.
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.
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    The following countries currently do not maintain effective anti-
terrorism measures and are therefore subject to conditions of entry: 
Cambodia, Cameroon, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, the 
Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Gambia, Guinea-
Bissau, Iran, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Nauru, Nigeria, Sao Tome and 
Principe, Syria, Timor-Leste, Venezuela, and Yemen. This list is also 
available in a policy notice available at https://homeport.uscg.mil 
under the Maritime Security tab; International Port Security Program 
(ISPS Code); Port Security Advisory link.

    Dated: June 29, 2017.
 Charles W. Ray,
Deputy Commandant for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2017-17652 Filed 8-18-17; 8:45 am]
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