CBP guidance for diverting ships from BC ports
U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued guidance Tuesday to vessel operators who may try to divert ships from British Columbia ports to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif.
CBP said it has received several inquires from the shipping industry about the potential for a dock labor disruption in the western Canadian ports.
The biggest concern is how vessel operators comply with the U.S. government’s 24-hour advance manifest filing obligation if they are carrying cargo that should have been offloaded in Canada first.
“Carriers must notify CBP at the designated first port of arrival as soon as they realize they are not going to make the foreign port of call,” CBP said in a public bulletin. “The carrier should then transmit the manifest with corrections indicating the missed foreign port of call.
“Upon arrival in the U.S. port the cargo declaration will be placed on hold until CBP has had the opportunity to review the documentation, any examinations will be conducted and appropriate penalties may be issued. If CBP determines that this has been a common occurrence for vessels this could eventually lead to denying the permit to unlade,” the agency said.
“Cargo shipments that do not meet the 24-hour rule requirement may not be exempt from CBP penalty action,” the agency warned.
The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union continued their contract negotiations Saturday, resulting in the union offering a new proposal on Sunday.
Reuters reported that BCMEA and the union will meet again this Friday with federal regulators. Both sides are “at odds over a range of monetary issues,” the wire service said.
The ILWU represents about 400 dock and ship foremen in the British Columbia ports of Vancouver, Squamish and Prince Rupert. The union’s contract expired in March 2007.
BCMEA told Reuters that both sides must provide a 72-hour notice before initiating a strike or lockout.