Encl. (1) to COMDTINST 16616.11B
targeting only the cargoes on board the vessels, care should still be taken to randomize the
carriers and/or vessels selected to limit the possibility of arbitrariness. This randomness
requirement exists only to ensure selections are made equitably, and is not an essential element
of the legality of the inspections themselves. Targeting of carriers, shippers, or vessels with
prior history of non-compliance will be addressed in a future COMDTINST as statistics are
gathered.
Step 2: Obtain Manifest: Coast Guard personnel will obtain both the Dangerous Cargo
Manifest (DCM) and the general manifest from the agent in advance of the vessels arrival. The
agent should be told the purpose of the request and the methodology used in their selection.
Units are encouraged to communicate with local shipping organizations to explain the benefits
of this new system. The Coast Guard believes that raising the visibility of the hazardous
materials container inspection program among shipping agents will lead to improved
compliance. Units participating in the test program with U.S. Customs Service computer
network may obtain the manifest information from there, but the agent must still be notified.
Step 3: Rank Containers: The scoring scheme is based on the hazard class of the container and
requires little or no arithmetic. Risks have been pre-determined using national statistics on
incidents, injuries, deaths, evacuations, marine pollutant status, and cost of response.
the port in the past six months, to ensure that all shippers are re-sampled periodically.
Although concentration is on the higher risk products, lower risk products are included in the
sample to keep those shippers aware of the potential for inspection. Go to SIDE B.
SIDE B - Undeclared shipments:
Step 1: Determine Number of containers for inspection: Example-If 55 total containers are
scheduled to be inspected in a session, 5% would mean around 3 containers would be selected
from the general manifest. These will be inspected for possible undeclared hazmat and for
compliance with the International Safe Container Act as described in 49 CFR 450-453. A
valid assumption is all containers on an inbound vessel are "used in or offered for movement in
international transportation."
Step 2: Obtain the general manifest of those containers to be off-loaded at the port.
Step 3, 4, 5: Compare the days date (last digit of the day) to the check digit of the container ID
numbers from the manifest. Continuing the example from SIDE B, Step 1 - If the date is 27
DEC 98, pick the first three containers where their check digit is 7, record on a list, and return
to SIDE A, Step 4.
SIDE A - Declared shipments (continued):
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