US CBP Offers Guidance of Possible Scenarios for Customs Entry for Hanjin Containers

US Customs published the following update today in response to queries from importers on how to deal with containers arriving on Hanjin Ships and Bill of Ladings

 

Scenario 1:

Vessel Diverted to Foreign Port and Discharged: A Hanjin vessel does not arrive
in the intended U.S. port and diverts to a foreign port to discharge freight.
• The manifest and Importer Security Filing (ISF) must be deleted.
• All bills of lading need to be deleted (not cancelled)
• Entries and entry summaries need to be cancelled.
• For cargo subsequently entering the U.S. through land border or other means, a new entry
should be filed at the appropriate port of entry.
• For shipments subject to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements, filers must
request deletion and a new Bio-Terrorism Act (STA) prior notice submission should be
transmitted along with the new entry if the cargo subsequently enters the U.S.
Scenario 1a:

Hanjin Vessel Diverted to Foreign Port Not Discharged: A vessel diverted
to a foreign port of entry is not discharged but cargo is transferred to an alternative
conveyance (i.e. barge) for arrival and discharge at the original intended U.S. port of entry.
• This should be used only in limited situations.
• No change is needed to the manifest, bill of lading, ISF, or pre-filed entries.
• A new FDA prior notice is not required.
• The arrival date will reflect the date the conveyance arrives at the intended U.S. port to be
offloaded.
Scenario 2:

Hanjin Vessel Diverted to Another U.S. Port and Discharged: This includes any
scenario where shipments manifested for one U.S. port are discharged in a port other than the
manifested port.
• 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 ISF. However, ISF filers should monitor the ISF disposition
codes to ensure that any changes to the manifest and bill information did not cause the
original bill match to drop.
• Change pre-filed entries to reflect the actual port code of discharge. The filer may opt for
any of the following:
• Using ACE Cargo Release corrections capability, to change pre-filed entries to
reflect the actual port code of discharge. As long as the shipment is not held or
arrived/released, this process should be fully automated with minimal CBP
intervention.
• Initiate an electronic in-bond movement or use a 7512 to allow for inter-modal
transport of the goods to the original intended U.S. port for processing by
CBP.
• Entries may be cancelled and refiled for the new port of entry.
• A new FDA prior notice is not required; filers can retransmit a corrected/updated prior
notice.
In all cases under this scenario, manifest and bill information should be updated, but no
change is needed to the ISF. Please note that without updating the bills of lading, the
shipments cannot be arrived at the first port of arrival which will prevent entries from
releasing. Changes in entry process with ACE Cargo Release has 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 CBP
intervention.
Scenario 2a:

Hanjin Vessel Diverted to Another U.S. Port Not Discharged: When a vessel
is diverted to another U.S. port of entry but not discharged, no change is needed to the bill of
lading or entries. The arrival date for the vessel will reflect the date the ship returns to the
intended U.S. port to be offloaded.

Scenario 3:

Hanjin Vessel Rests at Anchor and Not Diverted: A vessel arrives in port
but due to work stoppage rests at anchor until freight can be discharged.
 The carrier must continue to provide advance notification to local CBP ports of their
pending arrival (CBP Form 3171).
 When a vessel arrives at a U.S. port (within CBP territory) and comes to rest whether
at anchor, dock, or harbor, carriers must notify local CBP vessel processing
personnel.
 After initial arrival, a change to the vessel’s arrival status should be considered
(vessel unarrived) to avoid automated cargo release and general order issues.
 The carrier and vessel agents should maintain close communication with local CBP
port vessel processing office to share information, updates, instructions, and portspecific
guidance.
 CBP will work with the carrier on a case-by-case basis so the actual arrival date and
time at the first U.S. port closely reflects the actual date/time the vessel begins to
unlade the cargo.
 CBP will also take into consideration situations where cargo has been unladen but
due to work stoppage cannot be moved from the dock.
Scenario 4:

In-bond (IT and T&E) cargo already in the U.S. moving under Hanjin’s bond
to U.S. port for entry or export.
This cargo must be arrived to process the entry and allow release. Customs brokers and others
using ABI functions QP/WP can arrive and/or export any in-bond at destination. As an
alternative, the in-bond document (or information as appropriate) can be delivered to CBP and
in-bond destination in order to be manually arrived/exported.