Imposition of Conditions of Entry on Vessels Arriving to the United States From Certain Ports in the Republic of Iraq, 51692-51693 [2018-22291]

Agencies

• Coast Guard
• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 198 (Friday, October 12, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51692-51693]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22291]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Coast Guard

[Docket No. USCG-2018-0275]


Imposition of Conditions of Entry on Vessels Arriving to the 
United States From Certain Ports in the Republic of Iraq

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 certain ports in the Republic of Iraq. 
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 
October 26, 2018.

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), 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 August 21, 2017, the Coast Guard found that the Republic of Iraq 
failed to maintain effective anti-terrorism measures in its ports and 
that its designated authority's oversight, access control, security 
monitoring, security training programs, and security plans drills and 
exercises are all deficient.
    On October 14, 2017, as required by 46 U.S.C. 70109, the Republic 
of Iraq was notified of this determination, provided recommendations 
for improving antiterrorism measures, and given 90 days to respond. In 
January 2018, the Coast Guard re-visited the Republic of Iraq to review 
Iraq's progress on correcting the security deficiencies. The Coast 
Guard determined that Iraq failed to maintain effective anti-terrorism 
measures with the exeptions of three port facilities: The Al-Basrah Oil 
Terminal, the Khor Al Amaya Oil Terminal and Al Maqal Terminal 14 (also 
known as the North America Western Asia Holdings Facility).
    Accordingly, beginning October 26, 2018, the conditions of entry 
shown in Table 1 will apply to any vessel that visited a port in the 
Republic of Iraq in its last five port calls, with the exception of the 
ports the Al-Basrah Oil Terminal, the Khor Al Amaya Oil Terminal, and 
Al Maqal Terminal 14.

 Table 1--Conditions of Entry for Vessels Visiting Ports in the Republic
                                 of Iraq
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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 Iraq. 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 Iraq.

[[Page 51693]]

 
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 Iraq.
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 do not maintain effective anti-terrorism 
measures in their ports and are therefore subject to conditions of 
entry: The Republic of Iraq, Cambodia, Cameroon, Comoros, C[ocirc]te 
d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, 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: September 27, 2018.
Daniel B. Abel,
Deputy Commandant for Operations.
[FR Doc. 2018-22291 Filed 10-11-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 9110-04-P