UAE Advance Cargo Manifest Implementation- Operational Guidelines

We would like to inform you that Maersk will be Implementing the new regulatory framework by National Advance Information Centre (NAIC) in UAE to declare the Advance Manifest Cargo information through the “Maritime Preload Cargo Information” (MPCI) portal.

This is an update on the upcoming changes expected in the process and cut-off timelines. The scope of this change is Imports cargo into UAE, Transshipment cargo through UAE Ports and FROB into UAE.

Based on the new regulations there are necessary changes to the “Shipping instructions-SI” submission process for cargo destined or transiting through UAE and the responsibilities for shippers and forwarding agents. The effective date for this new process is 1^st of August 2025.

Applicability of “Direct or Master Bill of Lading” Declaration in Shipping Instruction submission.

• Imports into UAE - MUST mandatorily declare “Direct or Master Bill of Lading”
• Transhipment and FROB through UAE – As guided by NAIC, all bills of ladings transhipping or transiting through UAE will be declared as “Direct Bill of Lading”.

Declaration of “Direct or Master Bill of Lading” for Shipping Instruction submitted via Maersk.com

• Direct Customers – In case you are a BCO customer and no House Bill of Lading (HBL) is involved, during the SI submission process you will be asked below question.
• Question: Does this shipment have a House Bill of Lading (Is this a Master Bill of Lading)? Yes/No

You can select “No”, we will declare the shipment to NAIC as “Direct Bill of Lading”

• Forwarders – In case you are a NVOCC, SCAC, HBL customer and HBL is involved, during the SI submission process you will be asked below question.
• Question: Does this shipment have a House Bill of Lading (Is this a Master Bill of Lading)? Yes/No. You can select a “Yes”

Subsequently you will need to specify the 7-digit Alpha numeric code, e.g.: MPCI123 Maritime Preload Cargo Information (MPCI) code. We will declare the shipment to NAIC as “Master Bill of Lading”

Declaration of “Direct or Master Bill of Lading” for Shipping Instruction submitted via EDI and INTTRA

For Shipping Instructions through EDI:

Shippers should provide details in ‘Notes to Carriers’ or ‘Shipper’s memoranda’ or similar specific free text field.

1. For BCO – Customer should specify ‘No HBL’, ‘Non SCAC’ or ‘House Bill included (N) so that it can be identified as “Direct Bill of Lading”, and we shall accordingly declare it to NAIC
2. For Forwarders – Customer should specify ‘HBL’, ‘SCAC’, ‘NVOCC’ or ‘House Bill included (Y)’, so that it can be identified as BL that involves HBL/s. For such, we shall require 7-digit Alpha numeric MPCI code to declare it to NAIC as ‘Master Bill of Lading’

Please note, in absence of the required key word/s, the bill of lading will be declared as ‘Direct Bill of Lading’ to NAIC.

For Shipping Instructions through INTTRA:

We are expecting INTTRA to develop the feature for UAE Advance manifest by mid-August. Once the feature is ready, more detailed guidance will be shared. In the interim period, all customers using INTTRA channel should share their shipping instructions following the process below.

1. For BCO – customer should specify ‘No HBL’, ‘Non SCAC’ or ‘House Bill included (N)’ under ‘Shipper’s memoranda’ or ‘B/l comment’ so that it can be identified as ‘Direct Bill of Lading’, and we shall accordingly declare it to NAIC
2. For Forwarders – Customer should specify ‘HBL’, ‘SCAC’, ‘NVOCC’ or ‘House Bill included (Y)’ under ‘Shipper’s memoranda’ or ‘B/l comment’, so that it can be identified as BL that involves HBL/s. For such, we shall require the 7-digit Alpha numeric MPCI code to declare to NAIC as ‘Master Bill of Lading’

Please note, in absence of the required key word/s, the bill of lading will be declared as ‘Direct Bill of Lading’ to NAIC.

Forwarders Responsibility:

In all the above SI submission process, the forwarders/filing party are supposed to do a onetime registration with NAIC NAIC Website and receive the MPCI code. This code is Mandatory as per the guidelines of NAIC as Forwarders submitting House Bill must share this information during the SI submission.

Maersk will declare this to NAIC as “Master Bill of Lading” and share the MPCI code during Advance cargo manifest filing.

In addition, the Forwarders/Filing party MUST submit the HBL filing with NAIC or through Accredited Service Provider following the proposed timeline. For more information on how to do this please refer to the official NAIC Website.

NOTE: Maersk as a Shipping Agent is not authorized to do HBL filing to NAIC on behalf of customers.

Cut off Timelines to Submit SI:

Considering the submission timelines from NAIC, the customers must submit the SI 33 hours prior to the Vessel Arrival (ETA) at Compliance Load port. This is applicable for all the containers into and passing through UAE, that is - Imports into UAE, Transhipment and FROB.

What is Compliance Load Port?

The compliance load port is the loading port for the vessel carrying your container on the last leg approaching into UAE port.
Scenario# 1
Place of receipt/load: Cape town, South Africa
Place of delivery/final discharge: Jebel Ali, UAE
Compliance load port: Cape town, South Africa

Service-MW1     Vessel Name-300 MAERSK CHENNAI

Scenario# 2
Place of receipt/load: London Gateway, UK
Place of delivery/final discharge: Jebel Ali, UAE
Compliance load port : Port Tangier Méditerranée

Service-411  Vessel name:1NM MARSTAL MAERSK

Service: 471    Vessel Name: IM7 Charleston Express

Soft launch period implementation date:
The customers should start submitting Shipping Instructions and adhere to new shipping instruction deadlines from 1^st August 2025. During that time, Maersk will perform testing to ensure compliance from all customers. We will commence “live” Advance Cargo information submission to NAIC effective 1st September 2025.

However, during this phase, we don’t expect containers to be denied loading, to get rolled to the next vessel or to be Retained on Board (ROB) if they are noncompliant. The “No Doc No load” policy is expected to be implemented by first quarter of 2026 by NAIC, and we will keep you informed on the policy implementation date.