New procedures for arriving vessels

18 Mar 2020 / Baltimore, United States

In an effort to standardize on a new set of procedures with the intention of limiting the potential spread of Covid-19 and interruptions to cargo operations, United States Customs and Border Protection, Port of Baltimore request all vessels arriving from foreign ports provide the following information no less than 24 hours and no more than 48 hours prior to commercial vessels arriving.

We recommend working with your respective carriers to verify which crewmembers may need to offsign/D2 well before we get to the 48 hour mark. For nearby countries this could be before the vessel even leaves port.

The following listed information should be provided in one e-mail, addressed to: GMB-Baltimoreseaport, with subject heading to be entered as follows:

Covid-19 precaution// (ships name)//(IMO)//(Agency Name)(Estimated Date of Arrival).
1. Provide the condition of health for all crew
2. Please submit a list of countries each crewmember visited in the last 14 days prior to arrival in Baltimore.
3. If provided, please sign the attached CBP I259 (Detain onboard)
4. If an offsigner/D2 is listed on a I259 notify us immediately of the identity of those crewmembers. Once a crewmember is detained onboard we cannot allow an off signer short of a medical emergency.
5. Attach approved 3171
6. Provide last 14 days of travel
7. Estimated time in port(ETB-ETC/D)
8. Next destination

(For further details and updates, as well as information about operations in the United States, contact GAC North America at [email protected])

Source: U.S. Customs & Border Protection, Port of Baltimore

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