Maersk emergency notice, system paralysis, declaration delays
Sunny Worldwide LogisticsIt is a logistics company with more than 20 years of transportation experience, focusing on markets such as Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Southeast Asia. It is more of a cargo owner than a cargo owner~
On August 10, Maersk issued a customer notice stating that the EU ICS2 (Import Control System 2, Import Control System 2)Service interruptions have continued since August 7, causing some ENS manifest declaration, temporary storage declaration and other businesses to be affected.The relevant EU departments are still processing the issue, and the system recovery time is not yet clear.
For a large number of shipping companies, freight forwarders and export companies that rely on EU routes, ICS2 is an important safety declaration link before goods enter the EU. Once an abnormality occurs,It may affect the information transmission and customs review process before the goods enter the country.
Why is the ICS2 system important?
ICS2 is a new generation import control system launched by the European Union. It is mainly used to collect, risk analyze and safety audit relevant information on imported goods before the goods arrive at the EU border.After the shipping company or carrier sends cargo forecast information to the EU, the system generates relevant declaration results for subsequent customs supervision processes.
Among them, ENS (Entry Summary Declaration) is one of the important pre-declarations that must be completed before shipping goods enter the EU. If the relevant declaration cannot be submitted normally or receives system feedback, it may affect the connection of subsequent transportation links.
Maersk: Multiple reporting businesses are affected
According to Maersk notification, the businesses currently affected by the ICS2 system failure mainly include:EU ENS manifest pre-declaration, ICS2 related declaration process, temporary storage declaration and other manifest information submissions that rely on the ICS2 system.
In addition, due to system abnormalities, some declarations are currently unable to obtain the mobile reference number and related confirmation information returned by EU Customs. MRN is an important identification number in the EU customs declaration process and is used for subsequent cargo supervision and process connection.
Shipping company response measures: Customers do not need to repeat operations for the time being
In response to the current situation, Maersk stated that it is maintaining communication with relevant EU customs agencies and continues to pay attention to the progress of system recovery.
Current processing arrangements include:The prepared declaration data will continue to be submitted after the system is restored; the relevant MRN and customs feedback information will be processed for subsequent matching after the system is restored. Maersk reminds customers that no additional action is required at this time unless individual shipment-specific notifications are received.
Potential impact on cargo on European routes
From the perspective of actual transportation links, the impact of this failure on goods at different stages is different.
For goods that have just left the port and still have a long transit time from the European destination port, since the shipping cycle is usually longer, if the ICS2 system can be restored before the ship arrives at the European port, most of the declaration process will still have time to complete, and the impact will be relatively limited.
However, for goods that are approaching European ports and are about to arrive, more attention needs to be paid to subsequent changes. If the system failure continues, some declaration information may not be reviewed in time, which will affect the supervision process after the ship arrives at the port, the operational arrangements after the cargo is unloaded, and the information connection between the port and customs systems. Especially for goods that need to be quickly transferred to other EU countries, if the declaration information cannot be closed in time, there may be a waiting situation.
However, this is a system anomaly at the EU level, and relevant agencies usually take temporary coordination measures to avoid widespread impact on port operations.
Suggestions for freight forwarders and export companies
This incident was a systemic technical failure rather than a policy adjustment or regulatory upgrade.
It is recommended that freight forwarding companies pay attention to follow-up notices from shipping companies in a timely manner.Especially for cargo arriving recently on European routes; for cargo that is about to arrive at European ports, we will provide customers with delay risk warnings in advance; and at the same time, keep relevant declaration materials and operation records to avoid liability disputes due to information matching issues after system recovery.
As digital supervision of European customs continues to advance, similar system failures, although occasional, have an increasingly obvious impact on the global supply chain. At present, the industry still needs to wait for further news of recovery from the EU. Closely tracking the system status and communicating with customers are the most important response measures at the moment.
