Guidelines on Cooperation between Customs and Port Authorities for the Security of Seaports and Maritime Transport
By The World Customs Organization (WCO) and the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) published their Guidelines on Cooperation between Customs and Port Authorities in several languages on September 10th. These organizations have published an updated guide on the principles of cooperation between customs, port authorities, terminal management, and their clients.
It is emphasized that “thanks to the efforts of the WCO and IAPH teams, as well as the support of Members, the updated guidelines have also been translated into French and, for the first time, made available to Latin American operators in Spanish.”
“Translating these guidelines into Spanish significantly increases their accessibility, allowing all stakeholders to sit down and discuss how best practices and recommendations can be implemented in practice,” commented Mariela Gutarra Ramos, one of the lead authors of the Guide, an expert in digital transformation, and head of the IT office at the National Port Authority of Peru, on the Spanish edition.
The updated guidelines for cooperation between customs and port authorities follow the positive reception of the previous version, building on the success of the first edition, presented in 2023 at the World Ports Conference. “The new version strengthens public-private cooperation in the global maritime supply chain and incorporates valuable input from the World Shipping Council (WSC),” emphasize both organizations.
Italian IoT system. Source: “Guidelines on Cooperation between Customs and Port Authorities.”
Customs officials with new guidelines
“These Guidelines, developed jointly with the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), reflect this vision. The Guidelines are based on the principles of Coordinated Border Management and utilize key instruments and tools of the World Customs Organization, such as the Revised Kyoto Convention and the SAFE Framework,” states Ian Saunders, Secretary-General of the WCO, in his introduction to the Guide.
Saunders emphasizes that “the joint document reflects evolving priorities, including digitalization, coordinated risk management, and joint enforcement actions.” Many chapters and proposed actions by customs and seaport authorities required updating. “Comments—particularly from private sector entities actively involved in port operations—were taken into account.”
WCO Risk Categories. Source: World Customs Organization
Suggestions from port clients “have contributed to enriching the sections on data exchange, the use of digital platforms, and collaboration in addressing issues such as illicit trade and abandoned containers,” notes Saunders.
The guidelines provide a practical tool to support closer collaboration, improved data sharing, and improved risk management between customs and port authorities. They are intended to help governments, port authorities, customs services, and private sector entities address the increasingly complex challenges of global trade.
The release of the guidelines coincides with the World Customs Organization (WCO) global conference, “A Collaborative Response to Protecting Maritime Supply Chains from Criminal Threats,” held at the World Customs Organization headquarters in Brussels. The conference brings together customs authorities, ports, terminal operators, shipping lines, the international law enforcement community, and governments to discuss the findings of the World Customs Organization’s two-year global analysis of illicit trade. “Closing the Gaps” at Ports
“By collaborating on these Cooperation Guidelines with our colleagues at the WCO and the broader industry, including the container shipping sector, our former Chair Pascal Ollivier, Vice-Chair Gadi Benmoshe, and the other members of the International Association of Ports and Harbors’ Data Cooperation Committee have achieved another important milestone in accelerating digitalization in the maritime transport chain,” emphasized Dr. Patrick Verhoeven, Managing Director of IAPH, in his introduction to the “Guidelines on Cooperation between Customs and Port Authorities.”
The collaboration with the World Customs Organization (WCO) was carried out as part of IAPH’s own “Closing the Gaps” project. IAPH entities undertook this work to identify gaps in the global port infrastructure. “Our main finding regarding trade facilitation was the issue of trust and the challenge of sharing data in a collaborative way between stakeholders in the port community,” Verhoeven explains.
WCO Data Management Strategy. Source: WCO
The goal is to optimize ship arrivals and minimize waiting times at the quayside. Verhoeven emphasizes that “Customs services play a key role in this process, as efficient clearance is essential to maintaining the smooth operation of ships and cargo.” Collaboration plays a crucial role in ensuring efficient ship handling. Port authorities, shipowners, ship operators, agents, and freight forwarders, as well as other service providers, have a significant impact on port processes.
Seaport operators and the entire sea-to-land logistics chain “connect all stakeholders on land and at sea. By adopting a common roadmap that includes a robust, sustainable governance structure for sharing data that provides a ‘single truth,’ ports, liner shipping, and customs authorities can ensure supply chain security, streamline trade in their respective countries, and help achieve the mutually beneficial goal of a more resilient maritime supply chain,” noted Dr. Patrick Verhoeven, Managing Director of IAPH.
Coordinated Risk Management
World Customs Organization Secretary-General Ian Saunders said: “This joint document reflects evolving priorities, including digitalization, coordinated risk management, and joint enforcement actions.
The guidance contained therein reaffirms our commitment to strengthening border cooperation in an increasingly complex and data-driven trade environment.” IAPH Managing Director Patrick Verhoeven added: “Ports are at the heart of Trade, Sustainability, and Security.
The updated Guidelines reflect the importance of engaging all stakeholders – including shipping lines – to ensure both efficiency and resilience in global maritime logistics.
It emphasizes that “IAPH and WCO strive to further strengthen trust, cooperation, and innovation in the global maritime community.” The Guidelines provide governments, port and terminal authorities, and customs authorities with practical best practices that balance trade facilitation with safety, security, and sustainability, the two organizations explain. They expand the scope of activities and principles of cooperation from the shipping lines’ perspective.
“Single Window” according to the World Bank and IAPH. Source: IAPH
United Shipping, Port Officials, and Customs
The updated guidelines incorporate new comments from the World Shipping Council (WSC), representing global liner shipping companies. The WSC emphasizes the crucial role of cooperation between shipping operators, customs, port authorities, and terminal management to ensure safe and efficient maritime trade. It emphasizes that “Among the WSC’s key suggestions is the establishment of robust mechanisms for consultation with port stakeholders when introducing new data or regulatory frameworks.”
This is to address the rapidly changing business realities in global maritime transport and logistics networks. Shipping lines emphasized the importance of timely and accurate data exchange—including information about ships, crew, and cargo—which should be conducted in accordance with international standards such as IMO FAL.14(46).
The revised document strongly recommends implementing a “Single Window” at seaports. The idea of a “single window” consolidating services between shipowners, freight forwarders, and logistics providers has long been advocated. Its goal is to facilitate efficient cargo handling. The “Single Window” is being implemented at terminals to simplify and standardize data transfer.
Cases of goods seized by customs. Source: ILLICIT TRADE REPORT 2022, WCO 2023.
This also aims to reduce data duplication. At the same time, the new guidelines promote increased security and document compliance of cargo flows. The “Guidelines on Cooperation between Customs and Port Authorities” include several useful solutions for the operation of the “Single Window.”
“I encourage all customs administrations, port authorities, and their partners to use these Guidelines not only as a reference point, but also as a catalyst for substantive dialogue, building trust, and joint action to ensure more resilient and efficient border operations,” says Ian Saunders, Secretary General of the WCO, in his introduction to the Guide.
The document also emphasizes the need to incorporate trusted public-private partnerships into the logistics of the “Single Window” to combat illicit trade. This section of the Guide draws on lessons learned from cross-border, global, multi-stakeholder operations like Tin Can. These operations resulted in 43 arrests and 158 seizures of drugs, totaling approximately 100 tons, in 2022. The WSC also calls for clear international practices for dealing with abandoned and unclaimed containers, which pose a security risk.