#Regulations

USCG Catches Four Chinese Stowaways on Barge Arriving From Florida

The U.S. Coast Guard apprehended eight stowaways—four Chinese nationals and four Dominican Republic nationals—aboard a barge tow connected to the U.S.-flagged tug Southern Dawn in San Juan's harbor on May 22. The vessel had departed from Jacksonville, Florida on May 16 and maintained a domestic route with no foreign port calls. The interdiction marks the latest in a series of stowaway incidents on tug-and-tow traffic to Puerto Rico, with Chinese nationals accounting for about 2-3 percent of all illegal immigrants in the United States.