Circulars

We refer to our Circular of February 23, 2010 wherein we advised you that US Customs require 10 business days to process ICB applications; I want to remind you that they are strictly adhering to that and we can not expedite this process.

Please also be reminded that we submit the application to US Customs after receiving the notarized Power of Attorney and the fee and on that date the 10 day clock starts ticking. If in that 10 day period vessel(s) have US calls, then a Single Entry Bond is required for EACH port of call at the same fee per port as the continuous Bond.

We have had a few instances recently where we have had to apply for multiple SEBs and our Members get upset because of the added cost over which we have no control.

Please note effectively immediately, any ICB renewals will be cancelled 30 days prior to the renewal date if the fee is not received by then. We will send a reminder out 35 days prior and if the fee is still not received on the 30th day, then cancellation of the Bond will be automatic.

This is a requirement of the Surety Company and will be strictly enforced by us.

Further to our Circular dated February 1st, please note that we have received the following communication from US Customs and Border Protection:

The Revenue Division approved more continuous bonds last year than ever before in the history of Customs and Border Protection. In 2010, the pace of continuous bond approvals is already significantly ahead of last year's record-breaking pace.

With the above in mind, they have reminded our office that they will continue to process bond submissions as expediently as possible but to please allow up to 10 full business days for their office to review and file all submissions.

The Revenue Division will focus resources on processing submissions rather than responding to status requests. As a result, Shoreline Members should refrain from making status requests whenever possible, and expect delayed responses to such requests.

Please note that this applies only to new applications for International Carrier Bonds.

It has come to our attention that there is a misapprehension that we will not process Bonds for Charterers.

We will process Bonds for Charterers as long as they provide us with their Pandi letters. We would ask that our Brokers inform our Members that if Bonds need to be lodged with Charterers, to please advise them accordingly; and we ask our direct Members to also take note.

US Customs (CBP) have recently centralized all Bond applications at one location. As a result, it will now take them 10 working days to process Bonds with priority being given to Importer Bonds. Consequently, it is imperative that our Members allow a minimum of 15 working days for Bond applications through ourselves, taking note that we will not forward any application onto CBP until we have received the fee and notarized Power of Attorney which we have to also pass onto CBP.

Please note that unlike the United States Coast Guard, there is ABSOLUTELY NO FLEXIBILITY with CBP in accelerating applications.

However, we are cognizant that not all of our Members can comply with that time frame. In circumstances where our Members have only a matter of days to apply for an International Carrier Bond, we can arrange for a "Single Entry" Bond. The application forms and fee are the same as for a continuous (i.e. multiple entry) Bond. However, we must be advised of our Member's US Clearing Agent, their address and telephone number, so we can advise CBP who will overnight the Single Entry Bond to the Clearing Agent. After this, if a continuous Bond is required, we will need to receive the duplicate fee prior to forwarding that application onto CBP for processing. In these cases, which we assume would be most cases, it makes sense to send us the duplicate fee ab initio (i.e. for a $100,000 Bond, $3,500 and we would then simultaneously apply for a Single Entry and Continuous Bond.