Oct. 29, 2025

Commercial Vessel Safety During Lapse in Coast Guard Appropriations

This post outlines the Coast Guard's guidance on commercial vessel safety during a lapse in appropriations, addressing Certificates of Financial Responsibility, Certificates of Documentation, and Merchant Mariner Credentials. It details which operations will continue and which will be limited, and provides specific instructions for vessel owners, operators, and mariners.

Sept. 19, 2025

Publication of Coast Guard merchant mariner credentialing policy letters

The Coast Guard has published two new policy letters concerning merchant mariner credentialing.

Sept. 16, 2025

Coast Guard awards contract to support Mariner Credentialing Program modernization

The U.S. Coast Guard awarded a blanket purchase agreement Sept. 12 to Stealth Solutions Inc. to modernize the service’s Mariner Credentialing Program (MCP) information technology system and support revitalization of the maritime workforce and industry.

Sept. 3, 2025

Coast Guard Announces Conditions of Entry for Vessels Arriving from Suriname

The Coast Guard has announced that it will impose conditions of entry on vessels arriving from the Republic of Suriname and has issued a Port Security Advisory (PSA 4-25). https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2025-16845. The actions listed in PSA 4-25 apply to vessels that arrive in the United States after visiting ports in Suriname, as described in that document.

Sept. 3, 2025

Marine Safety Information Bulletins 04-25 and 05-25: Public Portal Website for Civil Penalty and Suspension & Revocation Enforcement Cases

The U.S. Coast Guard recently released two Marine Safety Information Bulletins (MSIBs) providing information about the new Public Portal website for its Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement (MISLE) data system that provides the ability for members of the public to access civil penalty and suspension & revocation enforcement cases they are associated with.