Please be advised that effective March 1, 2012, the current International Organization for Standardization (ISO) mechanical seal standard (ISO/PAS 17712) will be replaced with a new ISO standard--ISO 17712:2010.
CBP (C-TPAT) understands that seals are costly, and companies are not expected to discard seals currently in stock. However, after companies have exhausted their current stock of high security seals, we recommend that they purchase seals which are compliant with the new ISO 17712:2010 standard.
We recommend that all importers include in purchase orders, standard operating procedures or instructions to shippers, the requirement of use of ISO 17712:2010 seals for containers destined to the United States as U. S. law requires the use of ISO 17712 compliant seals.
Benefits of the new seal standards include:
- Reduced possibility of cargo theft or tampering.
- Reduced possibility of unauthorized material being inserted into containers or other instruments of international traffic (IIT).
- Reducing shipping delays that result when seals are missing or broken.
- When inspecting seals for signs of tampering, tamper-evident seals should allow personnel, with the appropriate training, to detect compromised seals easier.
Third Generation of the ISO 17712
ISO 17712 (2010) was first published in September 2010 and included an 18-month transition period (to March 2012) to deal with technical issues. The new standard is the third generation of 17712. The first was a Publically Available Specification (PAS) published in 2003 and the second was a revision to PAS 17712 published in 2006. Each revision builds on previous requirements.
Note: V. Alexander & Co., Inc. and WorldBridge Logistics, Inc. are members of the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT)