U.K.

Also see Pre-Arrival Information

Also see Pre-Arrival Information

If, within four weeks after the Master of a ship has delivered a Maritime Declaration of Health under regulation 15, or a corresponding provision in force in Scotland or Northern Ireland, the ship arrives in a district or calls at another district, as the case may be, the Master shall report to the authorised officer any case or suspected case of infectious disease or tuberculosis which has occurred on board since the Declaration was delivered and which has not already been reported.

By way of background, the information reported into CERS will be captured by one of three means:

The CERS Workbook is available at www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-cers-workbook

Due to CERS now connecting directly to THETIS instead of SSN, a “COMPLETE” message no longer appears in CERS’ Out Msg Status column. This is merely a system technicality as a result of the new connection: please be assured that voyages and workflows are still being processed successfully.

As a security measure, CERS login passwords will soon have a 2-year expiry and be required to contain numbers as well as letters. Current passwords will not need to be changed until they expire, although any passwords on accounts that have been in place for 2 years or more will expire once the new requirements are introduced. New accounts will need to conform to the new password rules. A notification of when this comes into effect will be sent once a date is confirmed. Please contact [email protected] for any further information.

The owner, operator, Agent or Master of a ship is required to notify the authority of the port to which the ship is bound, the information specified in ``Information to be Notified'' (below).

If the port of destination is known, the information must be provided to CERS at least 24 hours before the arrival of the ship. If the duration of the voyage is less than 24 hours then the information must be provided no later than the time of departure from the previous port.

If the port of destination is not known until less than 24 hours before the arrival of the vessel, the information must be provided to CERS as soon as possible after the port of destination becomes known.

If the notified voyage information changes, the ship shall immediately notify the authorities of the port to which it is bound. A change of destination must be notified to both original port of destination (cancellation message) and revised port of destination (arrival notification message). The MCA considers that a change in ETA of less than 6 hours need not be notified to CERS.

A ship leaving a UK port and bound for any other port, including another UK port, must notify the authority of the port of departure in question of all the information set out in ``Information to be Notified'' (below) before departure.

A ship leaving a port outside the EEA and bound for a UK port or an anchorage in UK territorial waters must notify the authority of the port of destination in question of all the information set out in ``Information to be Notified'' (below) on departure from the loading port or, if the port of destination in the UK is not then known, as soon as the port of destination is known.

A UK ship departing from an EEA State Port shall notify the competent authority of the State in which that port is situated of all the information set out in ``Information to be Notified'' (below) before departure.

A UK ship arriving at an EEA State Port shall notify the competent authority of the State in which that port is situated of all the information set out in ``Information to be Notified'' (below) on departure from the loading port, or, if the port of destination in the EEA is not then known, as soon as the port of destination is known.

Where information has been notified, in compliance with the ``Information to be Notified'' (below), the ship in question shall notify immediately the person to whom that information was notified of any changes to that information.

The duties of shippers in relation to the information and declaration of hazmat cargoes in preparation for them to be taken on board ship are applied by the Merchant Shipping (Dangerous Goods and Marine Pollutants) Regulations 1997, (S.I.2367) as amended. Further guidance is given in the following Marine Guidance Notices on dangerous goods published by the MCA and available on the website at www.mcga.gov.uk/

Masters are to report accidents, incidents and situations described when in the Search and Rescue Region (SRR) or Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), or equivalent, of the Coastal State as designated by that State.

Within the UK Pollution Control Zone, as described in the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution) (Limits) Regulations 1996 (S.I. 2128), as amended, this is to HM Coastguard and reports can be made to any of the MCA Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centres in the United Kingdom.

Immediate reports, which must include the information within ``Information to be Notified'' (below) are required for the following:

The standard format and procedures for ship reporting are described in Standard Format and Procedures for Ship Reporting, Including Reporting Incidents Involving Dangerous Goods, Marine Pollutants, Other Harmful Substances or Safety [currently described in MGN 242 (M+F)].

Other EU Member States are obliged by the Directive to implement similar legislation. Therefore similar reporting requirements will be required by those States, details of which will be reproduced in the Admiralty List of Radio signals Volume 6 (1).

Ships carrying dangerous goods or harmful substances in packaged form have to have a manifest or a special list or stowage plan on board. This document must list the dangerous goods and harmful substances in packaged form on board, and give their location (and, for dangerous goods only, their classification).

The manifest, special list or stowage plan must be made available, before departure, to the person or organisation designated by the port State. When the ship has harmful substances in packaged form on board, the owner (or a representative) must retain a copy of the document on shore until they are unloaded.

It should be noted that all UK ships, also have a duty to report accidents under the Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2005 (S.I. 881). Further details of those reporting requirements can be found in - Accident Reporting and Investigation currently MGN 289 (M+F).

When a ship is involved in an accident, incident, a discharge or probable discharge or a pollution event likely to result in pollution of UK waters or the coastline of the UK the report should contain the following information:

If a slick of polluting goods or containers or packages drifting at sea is seen from a ship in controlled waters, the report should contain the following information:

The Master shall also ensure that the report shall comply, as to form and content, with the standard reporting requirements.

Navigation Safety Branch, Maritime Coastguard Agency. Tel: +44 (23) 8032 9146. Fax: +44 (23) 8032 9204. [email protected]

At present, many of these forms are submitted in hard copy, faxed, or emailed from ships' Masters and ships' agents to various bodies including: ports, port health authorities, local and central Government (across various Departments and Agencies). In some cases (e.g. cargo manifests) data is already transmitted electronically and automatically to other databases. The aim of the NMSW is to simplify and digitise the process of handling legally required pre-arrival/departure paperwork, where necessary, so that data can be submitted simply and quickly via one online portal, alongside existing portals, in an electronic format, and meeting the Directive's requirements.

The National Maritime Single Window is a new mechanism for providing these reports, where they are currently required. NMSW does not extend the scope of any existing reporting requirements. Under individual items of UK legislation, exceptions do apply to the reporting of a number of the FAL forms. Existing exceptions are not altered by the introduction of the NMSW. If you already have a legal obligation to provide data as part of FAL forms, some of these will need to be reported via the NMSW, except where advised otherwise.

If you are aware of an existing exception from submitting certain reports, or if you currently send reports elsewhere, e.g. to ports, you will not be required to report these via the NMSW.

Ships are typically also required by port operators to provide information before or upon arrival, to ensure that the ship is serviced appropriately during its call. These arrangements are outside the scope of the NMSW and will be unaffected by its introduction. For ships departing the UK, if necessary (e.g. to comply with the UK's 'Exit Checks' scheme introduced across all transport modes in April 2015), a NMSW report must be made at the time of departure from the UK. The departure submission should be made via the NMSW and will require both FAL 1 (General Declaration) and FAL 5 & 6 (Crew/Passenger Lists) to be submitted.

Supporting, or original, information (e.g. original documents, notes, additional reports such as certificates, etc.) can optionally be submitted in the 'Supporting Documents' section for each form, but only in Word or Excel format. PDFs will not be accepted. Information from scanned PDFs must be inserted into a Word or Excel file to be accepted as supporting evidence.

The information given below is derived from the format type given in Paragraph 2 of the Appendix to Resolution A.851(20).

A report from a ship to shore-based authorities should contain the following information to achieve the objectives of the system:

The vessel traffic services in the Channel inform each other of the transit of ships, particularly those carrying hazardous cargoes.

Within the coverage area, these arrangements replace the existing MAREP scheme for ships of 300 g.t. and over. However, ships of less than 300 g.t. should continue to make reports under the existing voluntary arrangements in circumstances where they:

The MAREP arrangements outside the coverage area of this system remain unchanged.

Ships carrying dangerous or hazardous cargoes and bound to or from any port within the reporting area must comply with the European HAZMAT Directive (EC Directive 93/75).

In addition to these international requirements, the Joint Decree of the Prefet Maritime de l'Atlantique and the Prefet Maritime de la Manche et de la Mer du Nord (No. 92/97 – Brest, No. 03/97 – Cherbourg) control navigation in the approaches to the French coast in the North Sea, the English Channel and the Atlantic in order to prevent accidental marine pollution.

The Regulations make provision, in particular, for ships transporting hydrocarbons (MARPOL 73 Annex I), harmful liquid substances (MARPOL Annex II), noxious substances (MARPOL Annex III), dangerous goods (IMDG Code), preparing to pass through or remain in French territorial waters, to send an advance report to the appropriate Authority 5 hours before entering territorial waters, or 6 hours before departure. The message must make clear the ship's intended movements in territorial waters and the status of its ability to manoeuvre and navigate.

The same Regulations require ships to monitor VHF Channel 16 or other specific frequencies in certain areas, and require the reporting of any accident within 50 n.m. of the French coast and the taking of any action required by the maritime authorities to reduce risks.

The United Kingdom has established a pollution control zone under the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution) (Limits) Regulations 1996. The proposed reporting area is included within those limits. Ships causing pollution within the area can be prosecuted and fined more than GBP250,000.

If reports are not submitted and the offending ship can be positively identified, then information will be passed to the relevant Flag State Authorities for investigation and possible prosecution in accordance with national legislation. Information will also be made available to Port State Control Inspectors.

To the south: Lat. 47° 47.9' N (via the Pointe de Penmarc'h).

To the west: Long. 008° 00' W.

To the north: A line connecting the positions:

VTS also monitors Channels 79 and 80 which are used to broadcast safety information. Information of commercial confidentiality may be transmitted by non-verbal means before entering the system.

Regular weather bulletins (in French and English) are broadcast every 3 hours from 0150 hrs. UTC.

Call ``Jobourg Traffic'' on VHF Channel 13.

All reports made by ships entering the area covered by the system should be similar to those for OUESSREP and CALDOVREP.

A ship may elect, for reasons of commercial confidentiality, to communicate that section of the report which provides information on cargo by non-verbal means before entering the system.

The VTS also broadcasts regular weather reports in French (0600 hrs., 1400 hrs. and 1800 hrs. UTC) and special reports in French and English at 3 minutes past the hour from coastal transmitters situated at Granville, Jobourg, Port en Bessin and Antifer.

In addition, if required, the VTS can provide personalised information on a ship, notably as an aid to positioning.

The area of the reporting system is covered by modern hydrographic surveys and areas of unstable seabed are regularly re-surveyed to ensure navigational safety.

Reports should be made using VHF voice transmissions. However, when reporting to Dover Coastguard, ships can fulfill the reporting requirements of a CALDOVREP through the use of automatic ship identification transponders.

Further reports should be made to the relevant shore station whenever there is a change of navigational circumstance, particularly in relation to Items Q and R of the Report Format.

Information broadcasts are preceded by an announcement on VHF Channel 16, and broadcasts from both stations end with a reminder about the time and VHF frequency for the next broadcast.

Vessels on voyages to and from the West European Reporting Area shall report as follows:

Vessels need not report if, while on normal passage routeing during transit of the reporting area, the boundary of the reporting area is crossed on other occasions apart from the initial entry and final exit.

Upon entering the WETREP reporting area, vessels should notify the Regional Coordination Centre of the responsible authority of the coastal state participating in the system. (For UK waters, see ``Emergency Response Centre''.) Vessels unable to send the report to the nearest Regional Coordination Centre, should send report to the next nearest Regional Coordination Centre.

The use of specialised facilities may demand notice and when this is required, arrangements are usually made by the Agent or by radio. Information on notice requirements is detailed, where available, under the relevant ports entry, and is also available from the ports or terminals.

Ports and terminals may make a reasonable charge for the use of reception facilities.

Should any inadequacies be observed in the system, then such information should be reported to Maritime and Coastguard Agency, MCA Infoline, Tutt Head, Mumbles, Swansea, West Glamorgan SA3 4HW. Tel: +44 870 600 6505 (24 hours). [email protected] In emergency dial 999 and ask for Coastguard.

Head Office: Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Spring Place, 105 Commercial Road, Southampton SO15 1EG. Tel: +44 (2380) 329100. www.mcga.gov.uk/

HM Coastguard, Belfast. Tel: +44 (28) 9146 3933. Fax: +44 (28) 9146 5886.

HM Coastguard, Dover. Tel: +44 (1304) 210008. Fax: +44 (1304) 202137.

HM Coastguard, Falmouth. Tel: +44 (1326) 317575. Fax: +44 (1326) 318342.

HM Coastguard, Holyhead. Tel: +44 (1407) 762051. Fax: +44 (1407) 764373.

HM Coastguard, Humber. Tel: +44 (1262) 672317. Fax: +44 (1262) 606915.

HM Coastguard, London. Tel: +44 (20) 8312 7380. Fax: +44 (20) 8312 7679.

HM Coastguard, Milford Haven. Tel: +44 (1646) 690909. Fax: +44 (1646) 692176.

HM Coastguard, National Maritime Operations Centre. Tel: +44 (23) 9255 2100.

HM Coastguard, Shetland. Tel: +44 (1595) 692976. Fax: +44 (1595) 694810.

HM Coastguard, Stornoway. Tel: +44 (1851) 702013. Fax: +44 (1851) 704387.

The reported CO 2 emissions, together with additional data, are to be verified by independent certified bodies and sent to a central database managed by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). The aggregated ship emission and efficiency data will be published by the EC by 30 June 2019 and then every consecutive year.

Ship owners and operators shall monitor the CO 2 emissions of their vessels per voyage conducted into, between and out of EU (and EFTA) ports. A voyage is defined as any movement of a ship that originates from, or terminates in, a port of call (EU port) and that serves the purpose of transporting passengers or cargo for commercial purposes.

HMRC may need to ask questions and examine their baggage and any articles they may be carrying. If HMRC is told in advance, UK Border Force can be available to give them clearance.

Where a separate cargo declaration (for example, a manifest) is submitted, box 13 should contain details of any unmanifested items, such as small packages and unaccompanied baggage in charge of the master, livestock and birds.

If ports operate a computerised inventory control system, a cargo declaration can be made by computer at these ports. The words ‘Declaration of cargo by computer’ must be shown in box 13 of the IMO FAL Form 1 (C94).

If there is no manifest or other suitable document, HMRC will accept your cargo declaration on the IMO FAL Form 2.

Shipping companies can choose to include details of the customs status of the goods carried on the vessel on their cargo manifest. This saves their customers from having to provide separate evidence of status for those goods.

If a crew member is being paid off or going on leave, goods in excess of their allowance or restricted goods with appropriate documents must be produced to a Border Force officer (if requested). The relevant duties and taxes must always be paid.

You must keep the IMO FAL Form 4 (C96) on board for inspection purposes, so you do not need to submit it in advance. But the relevant box should be ticked on the IMO FAL Form 1 (C94) to indicate that a crew member’s effects form should be made available on demand.

Opening hours are Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays), 0800–1600 local.

If you are trying to send reports to the National Ship’s Reports and Compliance Team outside normal office hours, the Master or Agent should contact the National Clearance Hub T: +44 0300 322 7900 (24-hours) to advise that you are about to submit a clearance request.

Applications to operate these simplified reporting arrangements should be made in advance. The application must be made in writing to the National Ship’s Reports and Compliance Team at the address above. You can contact them to find out what information you need to provide.

† You may only use duty-free stores if all passengers are either arriving from or leaving for a destination outside the UK.

For example: A vessel arrives in Liverpool from the USA, then travels to Southampton and on to France. If vessel allows UK passengers to board at Liverpool then disembark at Southampton, this leg is considered to be a separate UK journey. No duty-free stores can be used between Liverpool and Southampton.

The only exception is when the journey is part of a cruise and vessel is authorised as a Foreign Cruising Vessel.

These quantities are for each crew member per day. Up to 8 days' supply of tobacco products and 4 days' supply of spirits and wine is permitted.

Crew members landing with duty-free goods under the Traveller's Allowances must proceed through Customs controls where provided. Crew members can land with unused duty-free stores as part of their Traveller's Allowance when arriving from a non-EU port. Crew arriving from an EU port cannot land any unused part of their duty-free stores.

Personal use includes goods for personal consumption and gifts. If bringing in goods for resale, or for any payment, even payment in kind, they are regarded as being for a commercial purpose.

From some EU countries there are limits on the amount of tobacco products a crew member can bring into the UK without paying UK duty.