Cargo RequirementsWhat is required as a description of general cargo? If your vessel is required to submit an NOA, you must submit a general description of cargo, other than certain dangerous cargo, or CDC, carried onboard the vessel (§Table 160.206(3) (i)). Vessels must list the type of cargo onboard. For example, grain, oil, lumber, steel, scrap metal, etc. Simply stating 'general cargo' does not meet the Coast Guard's requirement.
If my vessel is carrying CDC, and I comply with the requirement to electronically submit a cargo manifest to Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (BCBP), do I still need to submit the name and amount of CDC to the NVMC? Yes. For a vessel carrying CDC, you also submit to the NVMC the name, UN Number, and the amount of each CDC carried onboard.
If my vessel is carrying CDCs, do I have to submit a NOA every time my vessel moves from one berth to another berth? What if my vessel is not carrying CDCs - do I have to submit a NOA when transiting between ports or places within a single COTP zone? Vessels not carrying CDCs are not required to submit NOAs when transiting from one port or place to another port or place within a single COTP zone (33 CFR 160.203 (b) (2)). Vessels carrying CDCs do have to submit NOAs when transiting from one port or place to another within a single COTP zone. However, they should only do so if the vessel is actually moving from one port to another port. Moving from one dock to another dock, one berth to another berth, or one anchorage to another anchorage within one port is not considered a transit from a "port or place" to a different "port or place" and therefore, no NOA is required. If you are uncertain whether your movement is to a different port, you should contact the cognizant COTP to request clarification.
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