In preparation for the EU ICS Advance Security Manifesting System implementation on 1-Jan-2011, OOCL has established connections with a number of EU Member States where it has a first European port of call (Office of First Entry).

One such country being Netherlands where in order to connect a very rigid testing program had to be completed within a limited timeframe. To position ourselves amongst the leading software developers for ICS, OOCL has recently completed certification tests which commenced mid July 2010.

Persistence to succeed and deliver the highest quality of work, as well as speed of comunications has resulted in OOCL to be one of the first companies to be ICS authorized by Dutch customs, and subsequently to be nominated for participation in the pilot production phase that started September 14th which will allow OOCL to undertake end to end testing of their own inhouse systems 4 months ahead of the implementation on January 1st.

OOCL view this as the first of many "Production" successes to add to the success of test connections already in situ with many EU member states. This early groundwork and participation with National Customs will enable OOCL to confidently provide our customers with a reliable and fully tested system by 1-Jan-2011.

For more information about the EU Advance Security regulation, you may also refer to the FAQ posted on OOCL.COM.