U.S. should issue clarifying statement to ensure that UNCLOS port of entry regulations do not override U.S. invasive species regulations
UNCLOS allows coastal states fairly wide authority to prescribe conditions of entry upon foreign vessels. This constitutes perhaps the most obvious mechanism for addressing illegal or problematic shipping discharges of pollution. Yet the U.S. should ensure its right to establish more stringent or targeted measures as necessary to protect and conserve the marine environment. For example, since 1996 the U.S. has required ships entering the Great Lakes to exchange ballast water from beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone as a condition of entering into the Great Lakes system to minimize the spread of invasive species.10
We urge the Senate to include an interpretive statement on this issue as part of its advice and consent, to be included with the instrument of accession. This statement should clarify that the U.S. interprets Articles 25.2 and 211.3 to recognize longstanding rights of states to impose conditions on the entry of vessels into ports or internal waters. Conditions on port of entry include conditions on operation and design of a vessel as it proceeds to a given U.S. port of call, extending seaward as necessary.