Form BE-29 Foreign Ocean Carriers' Expenses in the United States

OMB No. 0608–0012: Approval Expires 09/30/2009
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

BE–29

FORM
(REV. 03/04)

BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

A. Name and address of reporter (U.S. agent)

MANDATORY–CONFIDENTIAL

FOREIGN OCEAN CARRIERS’
EXPENSES IN THE UNITED STATES
(TO BE REPORTED BY FOREIGN
CARRIERS’ U.S. AGENTS)

RETURN
REPORTS
TO

U.S. Department of Commerce
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Balance of Payments Division (BE–58)
Washington DC 20230

B. Name and address of foreign carrier for whom U.S. agent is reporting

C. Nationality of foreign carrier

D. Period covered by this report

SEE THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE REVERSE.
EXPENSES: Report in thousands of U.S. dollars

Item
no.

Item

Liner
(including passenger/
cruise)
(a)

Tramp
(dry bulk)

Tanker
(liquid bulk)

TOTAL

(b)

(c)

(d)

1

Port call expenses

$

$

$

$

2

Cargo expenses

$

$

$

$

3

Fuel expenses

$

$

$

$

4

Other vessel expenses

$

$

$

$

5

Other expenses

$

$

$

$

6

Total expenses

$

$

$

$

7

Shipping weights of cargo handled
Report weight in thousands of long tons

AUTHORITY—This survey, is being conducted pursuant to the International
Investment and Trade In Services Survey Act, Pub. Law No. 472, 94th Congress,
90 Stat. 20259, 22 U.S.C. 3101 through 3108, as amended by Pub. Law 98–573
(hereinafter “the Act”).
The filing of reports for this survey is MANDATORY under Section 5(b)(2) of
the Act.
This survey has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget
under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501, et seq.).
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required to respond to
nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of
information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act unless
that collection of information displays a current valid OMB Control Number. The
control number can be found at the top of the form.

TELEPHONE NUMBER

PERSON TO CONSULT
CONCERNING
QUESTIONS
ABOUT THIS REPORT
Enter name and address

CERTIFICATION
Authorized official’s signature

CONFIDENTIALITY—The Act provides that your report to this Bureau is
CONFIDENTIAL and may be used only for analytical or statistical purposes.
Without your prior written permission, the information filed in your report CANNOT
be presented in a manner that allows it to be individually identified. Your report
CANNOT be used for purposes of taxation, investigation, or regulation. Copies
retained in your files are immune from legal process.
PENALTIES—Whoever fails to report may be subject to a civil penalty not
exceeding $10,000 and to injunctive relief commanding such person to comply,
or both. Whoever willfully fails to report shall be fined not more than $10,000
and, if an individual, may be imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. Any
officer, director, employee, or agent of any corporation who knowingly participates
in such violations, upon conviction, may be punished by a like fine, imprisonment,
or both. (See Section 6 of the Act, 22 U.S.C. 3105.)

Area Code

Number

Extension

The undersigned official executing this certification on behalf of the respondent company hereby certifies
that the information contained in this report is correct and complete to the best of his knowledge and belief.
Title

Date

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 4 hours per response, including time for
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and
reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of
information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Director, Bureau of Economic Analysis (BE–1), U.S. Department
of Commerce, Washington, DC 20230, and to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and
Budget, Washington, DC 20503.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
Purpose of the report—Reports are required to obtain data for estimating the international transactions accounts of the United States.
Who must report—Reports are required from U.S. agents on behalf
of foreign ocean carriers. U.S. agents are steamship agents and other
persons representing foreign carriers in arranging ocean transportation between U.S. and foreign ports and in arranging for port services
in the United States. U.S. agents must report all relevant transactions
of which they have knowledge. They must report information on port
services provided or obtained by them for foreign carriers. They must
also report, to the extent of their knowledge, information on port services provided by third persons. For example, agents who approve
invoices for payment by foreign carriers for port services provided by
third persons should include that information in preparing this report.
Explain briefly any omission of data (for example, no access to this
information, services not purchased by foreign carrier, etc.), and if
known, any information about who could provide this data would be
helpful.
Foreign carriers must report expenses for services not reported or
provided by U.S. agents.
Carriers are owners or operators of dry cargo, passenger (including cruise and combination) and tanker vessels calling at U.S. ports.
The term carriers also includes VLCC tankers discharging petroleum
offshore destined for U.S. ports. Foreign carriers are those whose
residence is outside the United States.
Foreign carriers include those who own or operate their own or chartered (U.S.-flag or foreign-flag) vessels. They also include foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies operating their own or chartered vessels
as carriers for their own accounts. Where the vessels under foreign
registry are operated directly by a U.S. carrier for its own account, the
operation of such vessels should be reported on Form BE–30, Ocean
Freight Revenues and Expenses of U.S. Carriers.
What must be reported
For liner services, including cruise vessels —Each U.S. agent
must report the port expenses of all liner carriers that the U.S. agent
represents. Include all the vessels of that carrier calling at U.S. ports.
If the agent represents the carrier in more than one U.S. port, then a
consolidated report should be filed.
Otherwise, please advise us which port(s) you are filing for. The
types of expenses to be reported are included under specific instruc-

tions. A separate form should be used for each carrier.
For tramp and tanker services (dry or liquid bulk)— Report
the expenses of 10 separate port calls for these services. The
expenses of the port calls selected should be representative of the
type of service, size and nationality of vessel that you handle. Select
the port calls for which you have the most information. It is not necessary to include the expenses of the same vessel making more than
one port call in the given calendar year. A separate form should be
used for each port call.
Exemption—A U.S. person otherwise required to report is exempted
from reporting if the total number of port calls by foreign vessels handled
in the reporting period is less than 40 or total covered expenses are
less than $250,000. For example, if an agent handled less than 40 port
calls in a calendar year, the agent is exempted from reporting. If the
agent handled 40 or more calls, the agent must report unless covered
expenses for all foreign carriers handled by the agent were less than
$250,000. The determination of whether a U.S. person is exempt may
be based on the judgment of knowledgeable persons who can identify
reportable transactions without conducting a detailed manual records
search.
How to report—Use this form to report information in accordance
with instructions and definitions given here. Report expenses in thousands of dollars and shipping weights in thousands of long tons (2,240
pounds).
Where to send report— Return reports to U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Balance of Payments Division
(BE-58), Washington, DC 20230 or file reports electronically using
the Automated Survey Transmission and Retrieval (ASTAR) system.
For more information on the ASTAR system, visit the Bureau’s Web
site .
Frequency—A report must be filled for each calendar year within 90
days after the end of the year.
Assistance—For assistance in filing this report, call (202) 606–
9589 or 606–9559 during office hours on Monday to Friday from 9:00
a.m. to 5:00 p.m. eastern time.
United States—Includes the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico, and U.S. possessions and territories.
Foreign countries—Consists of all other countries and areas.

SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS
Nationality of carrier—Report the foreign carrier’s name and country of residence, that is, the country in which the home office or principal place of business is located. This may differ from the country of
registration, or flag, of the vessels operated. A separate report is required for each carrier.
Types of service
Liner—Dry cargo, passenger, or combination vessels operating on
a definite, advertised schedule, giving relatively frequent sailings at
regular intervals between U.S. and foreign ports.
Tramp—Dry cargo vessels operating on an irregular or unscheduled basis.
Tanker—Vessels ordinarily engaged in carriage of liquid cargo.
Expenses
Port call expenses—Report expenses related to calling at U.S.
ports. Include expenses for services such as pilotage; towing and
tugboat services; lines; surveys; documentation; harbor fees; berth
fees; etc.
Cargo expenses—Report expenses related to loading, unloading,
and storing cargo at U.S. ports. Report expenses such as those for
stevedoring; for handling bulk cargoes, containers, barges, etc.; for
lighterage; for container and barge rentals; and for warehouse and
terminal rentals and expenses.

Fuel expenses—Report expenses for fuels and oils (bunkers) taken
on in U.S. ports. Do not report fuel and oil expenses incurred in foreign
ports even though payments for them are made to U.S. companies.
Other vessel expenses—Report other (nonfuel) operating expenses such as stores and supplies, vessel repairs, and personnel
expenses in the United States.
Other expenses—Report other U.S. expenses of foreign carriers
related to U.S. operations. Report expenses—such as, but not limited
to, U.S. agents’ and brokers’ fees and commissions—and expenses
related to maintaining U.S. offices, such as rent, advertising, and wages.
Total expenses—Report all expenses incurred by foreign operators in the United States. This should equal the sum of expenses reported above.
Expenses not reportable on this form—Do not include insurance
for cargoes and vessels. Do not include vessel leasing expenses,
capital transfers such as vessel mortgage payments for principal and
interest, depreciation expense, and payments for equipment and supplies for which Shippers Export Declarations were filed with the U.S.
Customs Service.
Shipping weight of cargo handled—Report shipping weight (in long
tons of 2,240 pounds) of total export and import cargo handled by foreign carriers included in this report and for which cargo expenses
were reported above.

www.bea.gov

FORM BE–29 (REV. 03/04)