US Customs gives guidance to shippers navigating Hanjin fallout

As shippers grapple with container lines, terminals and others to secure their Hanjin Cargo, they may also have to make changes to US Customs documentation.

It’s the second US federal agency to issue guidance to shippers and other industry stakeholders after the shipping giant filed for court receivership in Korea and later applied for Chapter 15 bankruptcy in the US last week. Hanjin’s collapse left dozens of cargo ships adrift at sea, stranding billions of dollars of cargo. Still more cargo has been stranded at ports worldwide, terminal operators, trucking firms and railways have been unwilling to touch the freight without some assurance they’ll get paid for their services.

Hanjin won a provisional ruling Tuesday protecting its assets in the US against creditors who might otherwise seize vessels and cargo. South Korea’s top economic policymaker, Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho, said Wednesday he expects Hanjin vessels stranded off waterfronts like the Port of Long Beach will be able to offload cargo this week.In the meantime, Customs is advising shippers to continue to track their cargo’s location and follow the detailed guidance it has published online and elsewhere:

• For cargo aboard a vessel diverted to another US port and discharged, Customs has said that freight’s manifest and bill information should be updated to reflect the port code where the freight will actually be discharged. No change is needed to the importer security filing, but filers should monitor the security filing disposition codes to ensure that any changes to the manifest and bill information did not cause the original bill match to drop. Pre-filed entries should be changed to reflect the actual port code of discharge. Filers may opt to use the Automated Commercial Environment’s cargo release corrections capability, which should be fully automated with minimal Customs intervention as long as the shipment is not held or arrived, or initiate an electronic in-bond movement or use a Customs Form 7512 to allow for intermodal transport of the goods to the original intended US port for processing by Customs. Entries may be cancelled and refiled for the new port of entry. A new Food and Drug Administration prior notice is not required.

  Filers are free to retransmit a corrected and updated prior notice. In all cases under this scenario manifest and bill information should be updated, but no change is needed to the importer security filing. Customs advises that without updating the bills of lading, the shipments cannot arrive at the first port of arrival, which will prevent entries from releasing. Changes in entry process with ACE cargo release have linked the entry release to the manifest arrival to increase the number of fully paperless transactions. Without this, paper entries and other documents will be needed for shipments not requiring examination or further processing with ACE. In addition, since shipments being held for examination or document review will need to be amended in any scenario, this process provides a standard process with most compliant transactions requiring minimal Customs intervention.

• For cargo aboard a vessel diverted to another US port but not discharged, no change is needed to the bill of lading or entries and the arrival date for the vessel will reflect the date the ship returns to the intended US port to be offloaded.

• For cargo aboard a vessel at anchor and not diverted, Customs advises that carriers must continue to provide advance notification to local Customs ports of the pending arrival. When the vessel does arrive at a US port, within Customs’ territory, and comes to rest, whether at anchor, dock or harbor, carriers must notify local Customs vessel processing personnel. After initial arrival, a change to the vessel’s arrival status should be considered to avoid automated cargo release and general order issues. The carrier and vessel agents should maintain close communication with the local Customs port vessel processing office to share information, updates, instructions and port-specific guidance. Customs has promised to work with the carrier on a case-by-case basis so the actual arrival date and date at the first US port closely reflect the actual date and time the vessel begins to unlade its cargo. Customs has also promised to take into consideration where cargo has been unladen but, due to work stoppage, cannot be moved from the dock.

• For cargo aboard a vessel diverted to a foreign port and discharged there, Customs has advised that the manifest and importer security filing and all bills of lading must be deleted and entries and entry summaries need to be cancelled. For cargo subsequently entering the US via the land border or other means, a new entry should be filed at the appropriate port of entry. For those shipments subject to FDA requirements, filers must request deletion and a new Bio-Terrorism Act prior notice submission should be transmitted along with the new entry if the cargo subsequently enters the US.

• For cargo aboard a vessel diverted to a foreign port but not discharged, Customs has said that no change is needed to the manifest, bill of lading, importer security filing or pre-filed entries. Furthermore, a new FDA prior notice is not required. The arrival date for that cargo will reflect the date the conveyance arrives at the intended US port to be offloaded.

• For in-bond cargo already in the US moving under Hanjin’s bond to a US port for entry or export, this cargo must be arrived to process the entry and allow release. Customs brokers and others using Customs’ Automated Broker Interface functions can arrive and export any in-bond at destination. As an alternative, the in-bond document, or other appropriate information, can be delivered to Customs and in-bond destination to be manually arrived and exported.

Customs also advised industry stakeholders to take heed of guidance from the Federal Maritime Commission.

The FMC is urging shippers to report any unreasonable increases in cost or decreases in service tied to the bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping. The commission has said that while it has no authority to resolve bankruptcy claims, it will however keep a close eye on how Hanjin’s bankruptcy will affect US supply chains and liner competition and how the US shipping industry is affected.