Maersk issued an announcement in February, announcing that starting from March 15, 2024, a new "no pre-manifest - no loading" policy will be implemented in the UK. This policy states that all booking requests without complete manifest information submitted in advance will be refused loading.

The announcement stated that recently, Maersk has noticed an increasing number of cases of lack of shipping instructions or incomplete instruction information when goods arrive at British ports, which results in the company being unable to submit relevant declarations in a timely manner in accordance with British Customs' advance manifest regulations.

According to regulations, carriers are required to submit advance manifest statements at least 24 hours before the vessel arrives at a qualified loading port. However, Maersk discovered significant delays in the submission of these documents due to missing or incomplete shipping instructions.

In order to meet regulatory requirements, Maersk decided to adjust the existing policy and upgrade the original "no shipping instructions - no loading" policy to the "no advance manifest - no loading" policy. Under the new regulations, Maersk, as a carrier, is required to receive complete shipping instructions at least 34 hours before the ship arrives at a complying loading port, allowing sufficient time to submit declarations in advance and obtain a shipping reference number (MRN). Maersk will only plan to load the relevant cargo after successfully obtaining a manifest reference number from UK Customs.

The new regulations will officially take effect on March 15, 2024. At that time, any cargo arriving in the UK that has not been issued a Transport Reference Number (MRN) will be arranged to be transferred to the next available vessel. It should be noted that this provision applies to goods imported and transshipped in the UK, as well as remaining goods on board for medium and long-distance transport, but does not apply to short-distance seaborne goods defined by British Customs.