ECM client Alert 23-2018: USCG Port Security Advisory 1-18, Conditions Imposed on vessels Arriving from Iraq

The USCG has issued a new Port Security Advisory (PSA) announcing the imposition of Conditions of Entry on certain vessels arriving from Iraq. The PSA includes Iraq among the countries and/or ports that have been determined to have inadequate and/or ineffective anti-terrorism measures in place. This new PSA will affect vessels arriving at US ports on or after 26 October 2018.

The USCG regularly updates their list of aforementioned countries and ports, which are summarized in Port Security Advisories (PSA) that can be viewed on their Homeport portal. Typically, each new PSA describing such Conditions of Entry supersedes the previous Advisory.

REGULATORY OVERVIEW

• The latest PSA 1-18 affects vessels arriving at US ports on or after October 26, 2018. Vessels arriving before this date must comply with the same PSA, but with the exclusion of Iraq.
• The PSA includes Iraq among the countries and/or ports that have been determined to have inadequate and/or ineffective anti-terrorism measures in place.
• A full list of countries, ports and terminals can be found in Section B of the appended PSA 1-18. 
• Vessels that have visited any of the countries/ports/terminals listed in Section B during their last five port calls must follow the actions described in Section C. Fully compliant vessels will normally be exempted from the requirement for armed security guards described in Section D.

Members are referred to the attachment hereto for additional information.

If Members have any questions on any of our legal updates, please contact the Legal Team via Chao Wu (chao.wu@thomasmiller.com),

Jacqueline Tan (jacqueline.tan@thomasmiller.com)

and Ioana Gonciari (ioana.gonciari@thomasmiller.com),

or your usual contact at the Club, and we will be pleased to assist with your questions.