[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 61 (Friday, March 29, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11992-11993]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06106]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2018-0873]


Imposition of Conditions of Entry on Certain Vessels Arriving to 
the United States From the Republic of Seychelles

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 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 202-372-1296, 
[email protected].

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
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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 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.

[[Page 11993]]

 
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 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, 
C[ocirc]te 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.
[FR Doc. 2019-06106 Filed 3-28-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-04-P