Guidance issued for importers affected by ship fire

Customs and Border Protection said shipments on board the Yantian Express were in the process of being released prior to arrival in the U.S.

   Customs and Border Protection has issued guidance to importers and their customs brokers whose containers were stuck on board a Hapag-Lloyd ship that caught fire in early January while en route to the U.S. East Coast. 
   The 7,510-TEU Yantian Express was scheduled to arrive at the Port of New York and New Jersey on Jan. 6, when a fire broke out in its container stacks three days earlier. The ship has since been diverted to Freeport, Bahamas, where it’s undergoing assessment and repairs. 
   “At this time the status of shipments destined to the U.S. aboard the Yantian Express is unknown. Hapag Lloyd intends to cancel the manifest for this voyage at this time,” CBP said in a message to the trade on Thursday.
   CBP said many shipments on board the Yantian Express were released electronically in early January based on the estimated date of arrival in the U.S. 
   “Normally, a late arrival of a vessel would generate a new entry/release date but in this case with no arrival, that is not possible. This leaves entries that have been released but are not yet arrived in the U.S. In many cases, entry summaries were certified establishing both the release of cargo and the responsibility of payment of duties and taxes,” CBP said.
   CBP has identified the following scenarios and responses for the affected importers:
   • If the entry is in released status but no entry summary has been filed due to the known non-arrival of the vessel, then the entry cancellation requests should be made to CBP via the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). Identify to local CBP ports involved that these are entries from the Yantian Express to facilitate cancellation. CBP should not issue late file assessments against these shipments. 
   • If the entry summary has been filed and payment is overdue, then the entry summaries should be canceled and CBP should take no enforcement action on these shipments. 
   • If entry summaries have been filed and paid, then the unliquidated entries should not be protested. CBP will complete an administrative refund, by written request from the importer, and cancel the entry summary.