Vessels arriving from Venezuela

All members: U.S. Coast Guard has announced restrictions on vessels arriving from Venezuela in the Federal Register this morning. (Federal Register E9-845). These restrictions follow after Coast Guard has determined that ports in Venezuela are not maintaining effective anti-terrorism measures. Effective January 23, 2009, the following restrictions will be imposed on vessels that include a Venezuelan port in the last 5 ports calls: 1) Vessels must implement measures per the ship's security plan equivalent to Security level 2 while in a Venezuelan port. 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 a Venezuelan port. 3) 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; 4) Attempt to execute a Declaration of Security while in a port in the above country; 5) Log all security actions in the ship's log; 6) Report actions taken to the cognizant U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port prior to arrival into U.S. waters; Based on the findings of the Coast Guard boarding or examination, vessels may be required to 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 cognizant Coast Guard Captain of the Port prior to the vessel's arrival. We call your attention to the fact that these regulations become effective January 23, 2009 and the procedures outlined above must therefore be followed by vessels that are in a Venezuelan port on that date or arrives in a Venezuelan port after that date. WGMA expects that most vessels that have called Venezuela during the last 5 port calls will be subject to a security boarding prior to being allowed to enter port. WGMA recommends that Masters and/or agents report measures taken while in a Venezuelan port to the local Captain of the Port at the time ENOA is filed in order to demonstrate compliance with these restrictions. Members with concerns in this area may direct them to us in order to obtain details or clarifications from Coast Guard. We also expect this topic will be covered in detail at the HOGANSAC meeting in Houston on February 5, 2009 which is open to the public and which we encourage our members to attend. WGMA staff is available to discuss this issue with each member privately or at any of the upcoming meetings. WGMA meeting schedule:Houston: Annual meeting - January 20, 2009
Corpus Christi – January 21, 2009
Houston – January 28, 2009
Sabine Area: March 12, 2009 Full notice in the Federal Register can be found at: Federal Register E9-845