Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com
ST THOMAS, USVI: The US Virgin Islands Delegate to Congress, Donna M. Christensen, has announced that she is working with federal and local Customs and Border Protection officials to secure a waiver of the requirement of the Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS), 33 CFR Part 160, for small vessels operating in US and British Virgin islands waters.
The Aviation and transportation Security Act of 2001 and the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act of 2002 together mandate the collection of certain information on all passenger and crew members who arrive in and depart from the United States on a commercial air or sea carrier.
"We will use the full authority of the office of Delegate to Congress to press the Department of Homeland Security to provide relief to our charter boat companies. Because of the nature of this type of operation -- short trips of under an hour duration generally deciding to utilize the service on the spur of the moment -- it is impractical for these companies to comply with APIS and operate their businesses in a profitable manner," Christensen said.
Homeland Security resources reviewed by Caribbean Net News indicate the following requirements. For sea carriers, the proposed rule by Immigration, dated January 3, 2003, states in part, that less than 24 hours prior to departure all vessels must submit the crew-member and passenger manifests prior to departing the port or place of departure.
The APIS data is checked against the combined federal law enforcement database, known as the Inter-agency Border Inspection System (IBIS). IBIS includes data from the databases of CBP and 21 other federal agencies. Names are also checked against the FBI National Crime Information Center wanted persons database.
"We have written to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff and spoken a number of times to his Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs, Pamela Turner about the impact this regulation is having on the charter boat industry here in the territory," Christensen said.
"As a member of the Homeland Security Committee in the House, I know well the need for our nation to be able to identify and assess potential security risks to air and vessels, their occupants and the Untied States. In doing so however, we must not do harm to legitimate businesses and the jobs that they provide," Christiansen said.
To date, the congresswoman has not received an official response to her various requests.
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