[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3873-3874]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-756]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[USCG-2005-21093]


Notification of the Imposition of Conditions of Entry for Certain 
Vessels Arriving to the United States

AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS.

ACTION: Notice of policy.

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SUMMARY: The Coast Guard announces that effective anti-terrorism 
measures

[[Page 3874]]

are not in place in certain ports of Equatorial Guinea and that it will 
impose conditions of entry on vessels arriving from that country. The 
Coast Guard also announces that conditions of entry are being removed 
from vessels arriving from ports in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

DATES: The policy announced in this notice is effective on February 7, 
2006.

ADDRESSES: The Docket Management Facility maintains the public docket 
for this notice. This notice will be available for inspection or 
copying at room PL-401 on the Plaza level of the Nassif Building, 400 
Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays. You may also find this docket, 
including this notice, on the Internet at http://dms.dot.gov..

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions on this notice, 
call Mr. Mike Brown, Coast Guard, telephone 202-267-4330.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background and Purpose

    Section 70110 of the Maritime Transportation Security Act provides 
that the Secretary of Homeland Security may impose conditions of entry 
into the United States from ports that are not maintaining effective 
anti-terrorism measures. The Coast Guard has been delegated the 
authority by the Secretary to carry out the provisions of this section. 
The Docket contains previous notices imposing or removing conditions of 
entry on vessels arriving from certain countries and those conditions 
of entry and the countries they pertain to remain in effect unless 
modified by this notice.
    The Coast Guard has determined that ports, with certain exceptions, 
in Equatorial Guinea are not maintaining effective anti-terrorism 
measures. Accordingly, effective February 7, 2006, the Coast Guard will 
impose the following conditions of entry on vessels that visited ports 
in Equatorial Guinea with the exception of Punta Europa, K-5, Luba, 
Zafiro, and Ceiba during their last five port calls. Vessels must:
     Implement measures per the ship's security plan equivalent 
to Security Level 2;
     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 ports in the above 
countries. 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;
     Log all security actions in the ship's log;
     Report actions taken to the cognizant U.S. Coast Guard 
Captain of the Port prior to arrival into U.S. waters; and
     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 has to be acceptable to 
the Coast Guard Captain of the Port.
    Based on recent information, the Coast Guard is removing the 
conditions of entry announced in its previously published Notice of 
Policy (70 FR 22668) for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
    With this notice, the current list of countries not maintaining 
effective anti-terrorism measures is as follows: Equatorial Guinea, 
Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and Mauritania.

    January 10, 2006.
Craig E. Bone,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Assistant Commandant for Prevention, 
Acting.
 [FR Doc. E6-756 Filed 1-23-06; 8:45 am]
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