16 U.S.C. § 7404 — Authorization or denial of port entry

(a)(1) A covered vessel^* seeking a port under United States jurisdiction must send the Coast Guard department’s Secretary^* the Agreement^*-required information before arrival. That Secretary must give it to the other Secretary. (2) A covered vessel is one not documented under 46 U.S.C. chapter 121 and not numbered under chapter 123.

(b)(1) Based on the information, the Secretary must decide whether to allow or deny entry and tell both the Coast Guard department’s Secretary and the vessel or its representative. (2) The Coast Guard department’s Secretary must allow or deny entry accordingly. (3) That Secretary may deny entry to a covered vessel that is a listed IUU vessel^* or that the Commerce Secretary reasonably believes engaged in IUU fishing^* or supporting activities, or violated this chapter.

(c) If a covered vessel is already in a United States port, the Coast Guard department’s Secretary, at the other Secretary’s request, must deny use of the port for landing, transshipment, fish^* packaging or processing, refueling, resupply, maintenance, or drydocking if: (1) it entered without authorization; (2) it is listed as an IUU vessel; (3) it is not documented under another nation’s laws; (4) its flag nation failed to confirm, when asked, that onboard fish were taken consistently with applicable RFMO^* conservation and management measures; or (5) there are reasonable grounds to believe it lacks required fishing^* authorizations, the fish violate foreign law or RFMO measures, or it engaged in IUU fishing or supporting activities, including for a listed IUU vessel, unless it shows that it acted consistently with applicable RFMO measures or, for at-sea supplies, that the supplied vessel was not listed when supplied.

(d) Despite (b) and (c), the Coast Guard department’s Secretary may allow entry or port services when essential to crew or vessel safety or health, when appropriate to scrap the vessel, or for an inspection or other enforcement action.