29 July 2004

U.S. finds fewer ISPS violations

The following article is excerpted from the 28 July 2004 edition of “The Journal of Commerce”.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported Wednesday [28 July] that the rate of International Ship and Port Security Code enforcement actions to vessel inspections last week dropped more than a point from the seven days ending July 20.

For July 20-26, the rate of "major security control and action” was 5.4 percent, compared with 6.5 percent for July 13-19.

Since ISPS enforcement began on July 1, slightly more than 1,650 vessels have called at U.S. ports (schedules) each week. The Coast Guard has completed 1,536 vessel exams for compliance. All but 42 of them have been at dockside.

The number of inspections per week has been declining steadily, from 428 during the period July 1-6, to 285 July 20-26.

A total of 78 ships have been given enforcement sanctions, including 52 detentions, 11 denials of entry and 15 expulsions from port. From July 20-16, the Coast Guard took action against four foreign-flag vessels; two were detained, one was expelled, and one was denied entry….