The U.S. Coast Guard earlier this week announced that “90 percent of vessels and port facilities turned in security plans as required by the Maritime Transportation Security Act. Penalties are being issued to those that have not submitted any of the information required. Though most have complied, the Coast Guard will be aggressively pursuing those who did not.”The agency has begun issuing notices of violation with a $10,000 penalty. The names of specific vessels and facilities that have received a notice has been designated “Sensitive Security Information” and will not be released to the public.
The Coast Guard has established a Help Desk to assist industry with understanding the regulations. The Help Desk can be reached from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST Monday through Friday at (202) 366-9991, toll-free at (877) 687-2243 or, or by e-mail at uscgregs@comdt.uscg.mil. The full text of the rules and other information can be found on the Coast Guard’s Help Desk website at:
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-m/mp/mtsa.shtml (click here)
The Coast Guard press release is available here
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