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Coast Guard to Target Ships from Countries with Uncertain Security
The U.S. Coast Guard has announced it will intensify scrutiny of ships registered in countries with substandard maritime security as well as vessels coming from ports in countries in which implementation of the new international security regime is uncertain. In a September 10 news release, the agency in the Department of Homeland Security said it will be increasingly boarding vessels flying the flags of countries that have not implemented basic antiterrorist security measures. Those countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Cyprus, Honduras, Hong Kong, Malta, the Netherlands, Panama, Russia, Singapore and Thailand, according to the agency's targeting guidelines published on its website (http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g%2Dm/pscweb/FlagSecurity.htm).The International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code requires ships and ports to implement basic security procedures such as identification checks and restricted access to secure areas. The Coast Guard also said it will be increasingly boarding vessels coming from ports in the 17 countries that have failed to report compliance with the ISPS to the International Maritime Organization or to it. These countries include Albania, Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kiribati, Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nauru, Nigeria, Serbia and Montenegro, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands and Suriname, according to a September 9 agency advisory. In another news release issued September 10, the agency recommended that U.S.-bound ships take security precautions before calling on ports in these countries to avoid extra Coast Guard scrutiny. Posted by: Super Hose 2004-09-17 |
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