A high-ranking Coast Guard official recently delivered noteworthy comments concerning shore leave for mariners in the United States.U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Brian M. Salerno, assistant commandant for marine safety, security and stewardship, said he knows about problems mariners have experienced when trying to take shore leave or receive visitors in U.S. ports. Some ports have restricted leave and even prevented seafaring ministries from visiting ships, ostensibly in the name of security.
According to Salerno, since the implementation in 2004 of certain components of the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA), the Coast Guard has received reports of regulated maritime facilities refusing to grant shore leave to mariners holding properly issued visas. Crew change-outs have been denied, too. The agency has also received reports of chaplains, seafarer welfare organizations and unions being denied access to ships. In some cases, seafarers have been faced with exorbitant transportation rates through facilities for leave or visitation. The Coast Guard further states that in many cases passage was denied for security reasons or fears of safety and liability by the ports.
Salerno earlier this month presented a Coast Guard commandant-approved memorandum to captains of the ports throughout the U.S., explaining new guidance. That memo says the agency “specifically urges facility operators and owners to provide means to facilitate shore leave access for mariners and visits to vessels by seafarers’ welfare organizations.”
The memo further explains, “Although the acquisition of a valid visa for seafarers does not automatically guarantee access if Customs And Border Protection (CBP) determines that access may compromise security, the denial of access by a regulated facility to those holding a valid visa and having clearance from CBP for the purpose of shore leave as well as the denial of access to representatives of seafarers welfare organizations runs counter to the intent of our regulations.
“As a maritime service, the Coast Guard recognizes the importance of shore leave and access to seafarer welfare organizations as an important aspect of maintaining crew morale, readiness and wellbeing. Individuals seeking access through facilities for the purpose of shore leave or for the purpose of providing service to the seafarer community should not find artificial barriers imposed by a minority of facilities within our regulated stakeholder base.”
The memo continues, “Regardless of the implementation of the TWIC regulations or the ultimate position taken by the United States on the Seafarers Identity Document (SID) as proposed in ILO 185, captains of the port should encourage, support, and facilitate vigorously any accommodations at regulated facilities, including but not limited to escort provisions, to make shore leave and access to seafarer welfare organizations possible. These accommodations should not impose an undue burden on the seafarer or seafarers’ welfare organization representative seeking access by way of exorbitant fees, extreme limitations in hours of availability, or other unreasonable restriction to the movements of these persons unless exigent, confirmed security concerns dictate such restriction is necessary. Additionally, in order to obtain greater clarity on the issue the Coast Guard has recently chartered a working group under national maritime security advisory committee to explore the problem and recommend solutions.”
Fr. Sinclair Oubre, an SIU member who is president of the Apostleship of the Sea of the United States, described the guidance as “a significant shift by the Coast Guard on shore leave. This new letter shifts the burden more clearly on the facilities to demonstrate why they need to deny shore leave. This is a reversal of the earlier position that in principle did not oppose shore leave, but did not proactively ensure that the facilities allow shore leave.”
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