Bush Opens S.D. Bay to 6 Eastern Bloc Nations

Calling it “a major revision in U.S. policy,” President Bush announced Wednesday that San Diego and 11 other ports will be open on an unrestricted basis to six Eastern Bloc nations whose ships have been barred because of national security concerns.

Officials from the Navy and the San Diego Unified Port District were quick to point out, however, that the impact locally would be minimal.

“We don’t do a lot of trading with Eastern European nations,” said Dan Wilkens, spokesman for the Port District. “In fact, I can’t recall even one of those ships ever coming here. If it were a Pacific Rim country whose ships are barred, such as North Korea or the People’s Republic of China, well, yes, it would have much greater impact.”

Phillip McGuinn, spokesman for the Navy, called the shift in policy an outgrowth of “a commercial trade agreement. . . . It’s symbolic of those countries moving toward democracy and the rule of law.”

The countries involved are Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Albania. In the past, ships from each of those nations, except Albania, were required to request entry into a U.S. port at least 14 days in advance.

Vessels from Albania were denied access, without exception, to all U.S. ports and U.S. territorial waters.

Ships from the Soviet Union are still prohibited from entering U.S. ports and will continue to be, the president’s statement said. Under the new policy, ships from Cambodia, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria and Vietnam will also be barred from entering U.S. ports, as they have been in the past.

In addition to San Diego, the ports affected by the change are Charleston, S.C.; Pensacola, Fla.; Hampton Roads, Va.; Port Canaveral, Fla.; Honolulu; Port Hueneme, Calif.; Kings Bay, Ga.; Port St. Joe, Fla.; New London and Groton, Conn.; Portsmouth, N.H., and Panama City, Fla.

Wilkens, the Port District spokesman, said the change should wield a much greater impact on the East Coast.

The president’s statement noted that the policy was liberalized as a way of “welcoming the countries of Eastern Europe into the international community of democratic nations. It is taken in recognition of the progress these six countries have made toward democracy and freedom.”