Stena Line and other ferry operators have been contacted by UK Border Force regarding compliance levels for submission of Safety & Security (S&S) Declarations, namely Entry Summary Declarations (ENS) for imports into the UK.

As a reminder, under our Terms and Conditions, it is a mandatory requirement that an S&S MRN is lodged prior to shipment. Failure to do so constitutes a breach of our Conditions of Carriage. Failure to increase compliance levels may result in UK Border Force taking enforcement action, which of course we all want to avoid.

In particular, we would like to remind you of the following:

Entry Summary Declarations are required for all empty unaccompanied RoRo units imported into the UK. This is because they are carried under a transport contract and therefore do not qualify for any exemption. We have requested UK Border Force and HMRC to improve the guidance on this point on GOV.UK and we will provide a link when this is completed.

For Qualifying Northern Ireland Goods (QNIGs), when you create your Goods Movement Reference (GMR), you must select “oral or by conduct declaration or no declaration required”. See further information on GOV.UK.

We look forward to you your cooperation on this matter.

Stena Line