CBP Offers Guidance on Vessel Diversions Related to Hanjin Shipping
CBP issued a guidance that lists several possible shipping vessel diversion scenarios related to Hanjin Shipping's bankruptcy filing (here). The agency provided the list "in anticipation of possible disruptions due to Hanjin Shipping vessels or cargo arriving to U.S. ports," it said in a Sept. 2 CSMS message (here). Hanjin's bankruptcy filing (see 1609020011) continues to be a source of uncertainty among industry for goods currently being handled by Hanjin and future shipping rates. The South Korean company filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection under Chapter 15 on Sept. 2 and is expected to take similar steps in other countries soon, The Wall Street Journal reported (here).
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Once a Hanjin vessel is diverted to a foreign port and discharged, the manifest, Importer Security Filing (ISF) and bills of lading must be deleted, CBP said. Entries and entry summaries must then also be canceled, it said. If the cargo later comes to the U.S. by land border or otherwise, a new entry should be filed. Filers for cargo that's subject to Food and Drug Administration requirements will need to request deletion and a new prior notice submission "should be transmitted along with the new entry if the cargo subsequently enters the U.S," it said. Those steps aren't necessary if "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," CBP said.
When a Hanjin vessel is diverted to another U.S. port and discharged, "manifest and bill information should be updated to reflect the port code where the freight will actually be discharged," CBP said. While no changes are necessary to ISF submissions, filers are advised to 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," the agency said. Also, "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," CBP said. "Without this, paper entries and other documents will be needed for shipments not requiring examination or further processing with ACE." No changes to bills of lading or entries are needed if the vessel is diverted to another U.S. port but not discharged.
The agency also laid out how to proceed when the company's vessel arrived at a port but remains at anchor due to work stoppage. "The carrier must continue to provide advance notification to local CBP ports of their pending arrival (CBP Form 3171)," CBP said. "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 also maintain close communication with the local CBP port vessel processing office to share information, updates, instructions and port-specific guidance, the agency said. CBP will take into consideration unladen cargo that can't be moved from the docks due to work stoppage, it said. Some ports and laborers are unwilling to accommodate Hanjin's ships due to a potential inability to pay.
The final scenario involves in-bond cargo already in the U.S. moving under Hanjin's bond. "This cargo must be arrived to process the entry and allow release," CBP said. "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."