14 March 2018
Who does this notice affect?
Clients in the import and shipping industries—including freight forwarders, importers and customs brokers—associated with importing LCL containerised goods from Italy during the BMSB risk season (shipped between 1 September 2017 to 30 April 2018 inclusive).
What has changed?
To manage the risk of BMSB importation on containerised goods from Italy, on 17 January 2018 the department introduced measures for all containerised goods shipped via sea cargo from Italy during the BMSB risk season to undergo an approved treatment. Refer to the BMSB webpage for information about approved treatments for this pest.
To manage the risk of cross contamination of containers and other goods, effective from 15 March 2018 any containers arriving from Italian ports and containing goods originating from Italy shipped as Less than Container Load (LCL) consignments will be held by the department under biosecurity control at the wharf. Containers of LCL consignments will then require treatment at the container level at either the wharf or at a class 1.1 or 1.3 approved arrangement site (AA) or at a class 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2,6, or 4.6 class AA site that is in a metropolitan location and has previously been approved to conduct methyl bromide fumigations.
Where evidence is provided that the container has been treated containing all shipped LCL consignments offshore with one of the approved BMSB treatments, and where a valid treatment certificate is presented to the department, the container will not require further treatment.
To hold the containers at the wharf, new BMSB profiles have been implemented to place ICS holds on containers with LCL consignments from Italian ports and containing Italian goods. The ICS hold will prevent movement from a wharf until the department obtains all required information to manage the risk.
The ICS Hold will be registered as a GAS HOLD. To facilitate management of the containers at ports which already deal with GAS holds, the department will provide stevedores and wharf operators with vessel lists identifying actionable containers. These lists will enable BMSB risk LCL containers to be sorted from Country Action List (CAL) containers.
In respect of action, BMSB LCL containers need to be kept separate to the non-BMSB CAL containers as they do not require any salt ring intervention. Normal arrangements for non-BMSB CAL and BMSB CAL containers including segregation and salt ring treatments will still apply.
A movement withheld direction will be issued to the Master Consolidator as the person in charge of the container via email, to request the required information, and a direction for treatment will be issued once this information has been made available to the department.
The ICS hold will be kept in place until the Master Consolidator has provided all required information, at which time the consignment can be directed as required.
Where the department has no contact information available for the Master Consolidator, the Master Consolidator will need to contact the BMSB Processing inbox with the information outlined below.
The Master Consolidator will be required to provide the following information to assist in managing the biosecurity risk associated with the goods:
- Master Consolidator’s contact information, including contact phone number and email address so direction can be issued (if the Master Consolidator’s details is not available as mentioned above);
- Container number and BOL, (and manual entry number ‘Qxxxxxxxx’, if available);
- Nominate an approved treatment option and location (must be at an AA site as described above or wharf);
- Whether the goods (other than animals or animal reproductive material) in the container are valued at $1 million or more;
- Agreement to the nominated treatment to be performed for the container; and
- An importer’s declaration (if applicable).
The Master Consolidator will be expected to contact lower level cargo reporters such as freight forwarders, customs brokers or importers that have affected consignments within the container to ascertain the above information.
Where the Master Consolidator can demonstrate, through an importer’s declaration, that any of the goods within the container cannot be treated for BMSB, the department will deal with these containers on a case-by-case basis. A declaration template can be found here.
If providing an importer’s declaration, Master Consolidators should ensure the container and department’s manual entry reference number (if available), consignment details, BOL, FID number (if available), and any other relevant information are clearly identified.
The department has created an email inbox to manage LCL consignments shipped from Italian ports for BMSB purposes, and the above information should be provided to this inbox by email to BMSB Processing.
Once the above information is received, and authority for nominated treatment has been provided, the GAS hold on the container will be lifted and managed as per standard processes. Please note that these measures are in addition to existing import requirements and any further import condition requirements will continue to be managed through normal channels. BMSB containers subject to CAL inspection, external container treatments will occur prior to BMSB treatment. Where further biosecurity measures (including treatment) is required for other commodity or non-commodity concerns these will be processed after the container has undergone BMSB treatment under existing processes.
The department may also continue to inspect selected containers post treatment to ensure the risk of BMSB is being adequately managed.
Italian origin goods arriving as FCL / FCX/ LCL from non-Italian ports will continue to be managed under the arrangements as advised in 04-2018 – Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) Risk Season 2017-18 Mandatory treatment for containerised goods from Italy and 23-2018 – Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) Risk Season 2017-18 Mandatory treatment for goods shipped via sea cargo from Italy and will not be subject to these new arrangements.
Further information
Importers shipping consignments to Australia during the BMSB risk season should ensure their stakeholders are aware of the risk of BMSB infestation and the importance of preventing infestation prior to shipping.
When deconsolidating goods, care should be taken to inspect locations where BMSB may congregate, including crevices or protected areas of shipping containers, inside the goods, or within packaging material. If BMSB are detected, operators and staff must follow normal procedures to secure goods to limit any movement of insects and notify the department immediately.
If you see something that could have entered Australia with imported goods report it to See. Secure. Report. on 1800 798 636 or complete the online form.
Under the Biosecurity Charges Imposition (General) Regulation 2016 and the Biosecurity Regulation 2016, fees are payable to the department for all services. Details on how the department applies fees and levies can be found in the charging guidelines.
For further information on the 2017-18 measures, please see the Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs webpage or contact Air and Sea Cargo.
Any further changes to the 2017-18 measures will be published in industry advice notices and via social media. To receive notification of changes, go to the subscription centre to request an email when a new industry notice is issued, or go to the department’s twitter account, @DeptAgNews.