Britannia P&I Club informed that it has recently been advised that some operators have been charged USD3,600 for security guards in respect of crew members not holding current US visas, even though they were not disembarking.
According to the Club’s US correspondents, Lamorte Burns, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and US Coast Guard (USCG) have discretion under local regulations to order, at the vessel owners’ cost, security guards to “reduce potential opportunities” for crew members without the appropriate visa to abscond, meaning to leave the ship without permission.
In order to avoid such charges, all crew should have valid visas before arriving at US ports.
