Welcome to the Vessel Entrance and Clearance System Training
for Vessel agents.
This is Lesson 4, Entrance.
Clicking on the entrance icon of the desired vessel segment will
bring you to the entrance page.
The left pane displays the following information.
The vessel's name, the vessel's flag, the vessel's International
Maritime Organizational number, or IMO number, the vessel's call
sign, the vessel type, the vessel's owner and the vessel's
operator.
The right pane displays the status of certificates and
documents submitted via the Document Imaging System or DIS.
The name, phone number, and Agency e-mail field are auto
populated with information associated with your ACE Secure
Data Portal account.
The other e-mail address field is optional and allows for input
of a team e-mail address or any other e-mail address you would
like to receive entrance status updates.
To add additional e-mail addresses, simply separate each
e-mail address with a comma.
The bond number field is mandatory.
The bond entered here must be an activity code 3 or 3A3
International Carrier Bond.
The system will check if the bond number is valid once you
press the submit button at the bottom of the form.
The Last Port, Arrival Port, and Next port fields are auto
populated from information provided in the arrival report.
In these fields, simply make sure the data is accurate and
make corrections as necessary.
Next to #5 on the screen is where you will enter the
vessel's actual arrival date and time.
This is a mandatory field and must be in the past.
Advance entrance is not allowed. Next to # six
on the screen is where you will enter the dock location or
multiple dock locations for this vessel during this port of call.
#7 on the screen is for U.S. Flag vessels only and is where
you can declare foreign repairs and purchases.
Next to #8 on the screen is where you will select the
tonnage mark that applies to this vessel.
Next to #9 on the screen is where you will fill in the feet
and inch values for the draft.
Upon arrival, if you are working with the U.S. Flag vessel and
you select Yes, foreign repairs were made, that field will
expand allowing you to enter the required information.
Additional resources can be found by clicking on the
question mark where the yellow arrow is pointing.
If you clicked on the question mark, you will see this page
where you can download a spreadsheet to assist you with
your vessel repairs upload.
To access the spreadsheet, click on the HERE hyperlink as
indicated by the yellow arrow.
Displayed here is the spreadsheet you can use to
assist you when uploading multiple foreign repairs.
As a note, row one in each column should not be changed.
Once your foreign repair spreadsheet is completed, you
can upload that spreadsheet directly to VECS utilizing the
upload data button on the bottom left. Displayed here under the
entrance Special Permits are a few checkbox options.
Here you will only need to select what applies to this
vessel on this entrance.
If nothing applies, do not select anything.
The SCAC code should transfer from your arrival report to the
entrance here.
From this screen you can verify or make changes as needed.
The cargo operations information should also transfer from your
arrival report. On this screen
verify the information is still accurate or make changes as
needed.
Ship stores and crew effects will be declared here To make
this process easier, a spreadsheet template is
available for each section.
To access the templates, simply click on the question mark next
to each Upload Data button in the bottom left.
This is an example of the Vessel Stores template.
As stated earlier, no changes should be made to row one in
each column.
Once you have a completed Vessel Store spreadsheet, you can
upload it directly to Vex by using the Upload Data button in
the bottom left.
This is an example of the Crew Effects template.
As stated earlier, no changes should be made to row one in
each column.
Once you have a completed crew effects spreadsheet, you can
upload it directly to VECS by using the Upload Data button at
the bottom left.
Once you reach the bottom of the entrance page, you will have an
opportunity to request anything else not covered on the page.
Use this free text box in lieu of e-mail when corresponding
with CBP on this particular vessel entrance.
VECS automatically saves your work every time you leave a
field.
If there are any errors on the form, you will receive the
message shown here.
If you see this message, scroll through the document to locate
where those errors are and make the necessary corrections.
Once you are ready to submit and all the errors are corrected,
click the blue submit button.
The e-mail address linked to the Vessel Agency ACE account and
any additional e-mail addresses entered in the other e-mail
field at the top of the page will receive the displayed
e-mail confirmation.
Similar confirmations will be received once the document is
approved or rejected by CBP.
You may edit an entrance that is in draft, Submitted, Rejected
and Amended Draft status.
To edit an entrance, click on the Reopen button pictured here.
VECS records all changes in status and displays a date and
timestamp for each transaction on the form.
Displayed here is an example of an Approved entrance.
This is an example of a Rejected entrance you can see here.
You now have the opportunity to delete or amend the entrance.
All rejected entrances will have comments from CBP.
Deleting any form in VECS requires a 2-step process.
Step one choose Delete.
Step 2 Confirm this is what you want to do by clicking Confirm
Delete.
This concludes the Vessel Entrance and Clearance Training
for Vessel Agents Lesson 4. How to file an entrance in VECS.