Cargo vessel, facility in Miami in violation of MTSA

MIAMI - The U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port Miami today issued an order to suspend operations at a facility that was not in compliance with the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA).

Coast Guard Marine Inspectors, acting on a report from a Coast Guard Auxiliary unit, discovered NRD Shipping and Marine of Miami had been operating for 10 days and had failed to notify the Coast Guard of its intention to conduct cargo operations with vessels subject to the MTSA and International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) regulations.

During a routine patrol in the waters surrounding Miami, A Coast Guard Auxiliary unit working for Coast Guard Sector Miami located the Bolivian-flagged, cargo ship Miss Rutha, at an unregulated facility along the Miami River. The auxiliary vessel made note of Miss Rutha and passed the information to Sector Miami, which immediately dispatched marine inspectors to the scene.

Miss Rutha was ordered to transit to an MTSA/ISPS-compliant facility and offload the cargo immediately.

The NRD Shipping and Marine facility and the vessel Miss Rutha will be inspected further to verify compliance with the MTSA/ISPS. The regulations require vessels and facilities to, among other tasks, develop security procedures and install physical security measures as part of a layered approach to Homeland Security.