OCEAN CARRIERS TAKE TO AES VESSEL TRANSPORTATION MODULE

OCEAN CARRIERS TAKE TO AES VESSEL TRANSPORTATION MODULE    Ocean carriers are beginning to file their outbound manifests to U.S. Customs through the Automated Export System.
   Customs has given carriers this ability through its AES vessel transportation module, which was implemented nationwide on June 1. The agency began developing the module in 1999. A “limited release” of the module was conducted last July at the Port of Charleston, S.C., but a glitch in the agency’s computer system put the module’s implementation on hold until it fixed the problems.
   To participate in the module, carriers have to successfully complete the Vessel Transportation Certification Test in AES. Five carriers have begun filing their outbound manifests through the module: P&O Nedlloyd, Hapag-Lloyd, OOCL, Lykes Lines and TMM. Carriers have the ability to roll out the module nationwide or on a port-by-port basis.
   “So far, so good,” said Pete Smith, AES project manager at P&O Nedlloyd in East Rutherford, N.J. “We’ve been preparing for this for quite some time. We didn’t just throw on a switch.”
   P&O Nedlloyd implemented the AES vessel transportation module across its operations nationwide. “It didn’t seem to be too much of an issue,” Smith said.
   “Customs has done its work,” said Tony Migliaro, EDI (electronic-data-exchange) systems manager for Lykes Lines Ltd. in Tampa, Fla. “The agency put together a pretty good product for us. We look forward to the benefits of having our export processes automated.”
   Through the module, carriers file all known bookings for a manifest 72 hours before vessel departure. After that time booking information will be sent as it is received. Also during this time, carriers must send a receipt of goods when the cargo hits the piers and a message when the vessel departs.
   The final vessel manifest is due to the agency 10 days after vessel departure.
Customs uses transportation data to know when goods are leaving the country. The module also saves Customs inspectors many hours of having to sift through paper export documents at carrier offices.
   By the end of the year, Customs hopes to have as many as 15 carriers using the AES vessel transportation module.