WASHINGTON, CMC – The United States Coast Guard (USCG) says it will, from September 17, impose conditions of entry on vessels arriving from Suriname.
“Conditions of entry are intended to protect the United States from vessels arriving from foreign ports or places that have been found to have ineffective antiterrorism measures,” the USCG said. This decision is not subject to appeal.
Rear Admiral, Acting Deputy Commandant for Operations, US Coast Guard, Shannon N. Gilreath, said that the Department of Homeland Security authorizes the Coast Guard to impose conditions of entry on vessels arriving in US waters from foreign ports that the Coast Guard has not found to maintain effective antiterrorism measures.
“The Coast Guard has determined that Suriname does not have effective antiterrorism measures in its ports,” Gilreath said, adding that with this notice, Suriname joins Cambodia, Cameroon, Comoros, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), Equatorial Guinea, Gambia (The), Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Madagascar, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Timor-Leste, Venezuela, and Yemen as countries assessed and not maintaining effective antiterrorism measures.
The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA) requires the US Coast Guard to evaluate the effectiveness of antiterrorism measures in commercial foreign ports. It said that the actions against Suriname “take effect for all commercial vessels that arrive in the United States on or after September 17, 2025, after visiting ports in Suriname as one of their last five ports of call.
“Vessels that visited the countries listed … on or after the effective date …during their last five port calls may be boarded or examined by the Coast Guard to ensure the vessel took the required actions. Failure to properly implement the actions…may result in delay or denial of entry into the United States.”
Among the actions being called for are that vessels with approved security plans must implement measures equivalent to Security Level 2.
“Those without security plans should take appropriate precautions to safeguard themselves while in port, including designated port anchorages,” the authorities said, adding they must ensure “ that each access point to the vessel is guarded and that the guards have total visibility of the exterior of the ship.
“The vessel’s crew may provide guards; 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,” according to the safety guidelines.
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