U.S. - Electronic Notice of Arrival/Departure (ENOA/D) - New Penalty Phase

January 2006

From ECM Maritime Client Alert 2-2006 - January 12, 2006:

As of October, 2005, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) has entered into a stricter penalty enforcement phase for submissions of crew/passenger manifest declarations and electronic Notice of Arrival/Departure (eNOA/D).

Under U.S. law, cargo vessels must submit eNOA/D and crew/passenger manifests to the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Vessel Movement Center (“NVMC”) at the following times:

Foreign to U.S.*: If voyage time is 96 hours or more, NOA and crew/passenger manifest must be submitted at least 96 hours before entering the U.S. port or place of destination (33 CFR §160.212(3);

Foreign to U.S.*: If voyage time is less than 96 hours, NOA and crew/passenger manifest must be submitted before departure, but at least 24 hours before entering the U.S. port or place of destination (33 CFR §160.212(3)).

U.S. to Foreign: If your voyage is from the U.S. to a foreign port, NOD and crew/passenger manifest must be submitted a minimum of 15 minutes prior to departure.

*Submission of eNOA/D by a vessel prior to entry into the United States does not satisfy U.S. Coast Guard NOA/D requirements for domestic voyages from U.S. port to U.S. port. Such notifications must be made separately to the Coast Guard within the proper time specified.

As of October 4, 2005, CBP has begun issuing penalties for omissions and errors in crew and/or passenger manifests submitted as part of eNOA/D. “Errors” with regard to crew/passenger manifests can include, but are not limited to, incorrect passport numbers, dates of birth, misspellings or omissions of crew or passenger names, etc. CBP advises that penalties will be assessed on a per manifest (not a “per error”) basis. By statute, each crew/passenger manifest with an error carries a potential maximum penalty of $5,000.

In furtherance of this penalty policy, we understand that CBP is auditing all vessels submitting departure NOA’s (U.S. to foreign). CBP’s purpose is to ensure that the crew/passenger manifests have been updated and accurately reflect any crew/passenger manifest changes that may have taken place while the vessel was in the U.S.

In sum, NVMC and CBP are now auditing eNOA/D submissions both timeliness and accuracy of crew/passenger manifests. Please take note and act accordingly.

It is recommend that the vessel’s local agent be listed as the point of contact for eNOA/D purposes as the agent should be in a position to provide CBP with vessel schedule information. (ECM should not be listed as a U.S. point of contact on  eNOA/D submissions as ECM is not involved with the eNOA/D process and can not provide CBP with vessel schedule information.) 

Related articles on Steamship Mutual Website:

CBP Automated Manifest Requirements

U.S. Ports Notice of Arrival Requirements

eNOA/D Compulsory From 6 June 2005

U.S. - Electronic Notice of Arrival/Departure (eNOA/D) - Offline Submissions