VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHMU #0672 1892239
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 082239Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4312
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS MANAGUA 000672 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EEB/TRA/OTP DORIS HAYWOOD 
DEPT PASS U.S. COAST GUARD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EWWT ASEC MARR PARM PREL PHSA ECON NU
SUBJECT: NICARAGUA: ARMS/SECURITY TEAMS ABOARD MERCHANT VESSELS
 
REF: SECSTATE 45331 
 
¶1. (U) On July 1, Econoff and visiting U.S. Coast Guard 
(USCG) International Port Security Liaison Officer delivered 
reftel demarche to representatives of Nicaragua's three port 
and maritime security agencies, the National Port Agency 
(EPN), the Ministry of Transportation's Office of Aquatic 
Transportation (MTI-DGTA), and the Naval Forces of Nicaragua. 
 The three authorities jointly regulate port and maritime 
security.  Their representatives stated that current 
Nicaraguan law and security regulations restrict vessels 
employing armed security teams or with armed crews from 
entering Nicaraguan ports. 
 
¶2. (U) The Nicaraguan port security agency representatives 
present at the meeting were Javier Morales, Director of Port 
Security for EPN; Hugo Lopez Sanchez, the Deputy 
Director-General of the Ministry of Transportation's 
MTI-DGTA; and Salvador Santos Montoya, the Chief of the Port 
Captains' Section of the Naval Forces of Nicaragua.  They 
stated that crew members must have permission to carry 
weapons in Nicaragua and that vessels visiting Nicaraguan 
territory must declare arms and explosives on board.  Crews 
and security teams would have to surrender weapons to port 
security authorities upon entering a Nicaraguan port.  Arms 
would be returned to the vessels upon their departure. 
 
¶3. (U) The port security representatives recognized that 
while armed security teams may be an appropriate measure to 
deter pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa, security for 
merchant ships in Nicaraguan waters came under their 
authority.  The Naval Forces are authorized to inspect ships 
and fishing boats in Nicaraguan waters, and the National Port 
Agency maintains a patrol ship to provide security for ships 
entering Nicaraguan ports. 
 
¶4. (U) Nicaragua is signatory to the International Convention 
for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), and its ports are 
required to comply with the International Ship and Port 
Facility Security (ISPS) Code.  The U.S. Coast Guard 
International Port Security (IPS) Team last reviewed 
Nicaragua's implementation of the ISPS Code in 2007 and found 
that the country had substantially implemented it.  The USCG 
plans to conduct another review of ISPS-designated Nicaraguan 
ports in 2009. 
CALLAHAN