In response to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) requirements for all UK ports to have electronic inventory control, Portland Port Limited has selected the Pentant ‘CusLink’ service as a cost effective solution.

The development is in line with the current HMRC focus on ‘e-Borders’ and the upcoming message based notification of cargo for Europe-wide security monitoring (ECS and ICS).

In future all ports with international trade are required by HMRC to have an electronic inventory system. This is now an integral part of their Port Approval process.

The Pentant ‘CusLink’ service provides small ports with the necessary functionality at a competitive cost. The system has undergone rigorous HMRC testing and approval and meets their requirements for control of movement of both Imports and Exports.

The first vessel handled on the system was RMS St Helena which operates from Portland on a regular liner service to South Africa via Spain, Tenerife, Ascension Island and St Helena. Carrying a mixture of containers, break-bulk, personal effects and passenger baggage the vessel arrived on March 24 and departed on March 27.

Speaking after the vessel departed, Steve Davies, chief executive of Portland Port Limited, said “The requirement for sophisticated electronic inventory systems could be onerous for small port operators. In terms of Customs Entries our requirements are minimal. It was therefore important to find a cost effective solution that satisfied customs requirements without being a burden for our customers or ourselves. The ‘CusLink’ service has proved to be the right answer for us. It was easy to install and use and provides all the necessary controls.”

UK Cargo Agents for the vessel are MacAndrews and Co Ltd, Liverpool which supplied the manifest data. This was then entered to the inventory system by the Portland Port operations team.

Import clearances are handled by MK Shipping Limited of Tilbury. The firm was also required to link to the ‘CusLink’ system in order to clear cargo from the inventory.

MK Shipping Director, Kevin Hymas, said “The process was very straight forward. Our existing freight software, Impatex, already had a Pentant ‘CusLink’ interface and the link is via a secure Internet connection. We have therefore been able to handle all of the clearances remotely from our Tilbury office”.

Pentant Limited managing director, Phil Waldron said: “Portland Port is typical of many small port operations throughout the UK. The HMRC requirements for both fiscal and security controls are now included in the port approval process. We believe the Pentant ‘CusLink’ service offers a very cost competitive answer.”