19 C.F.R. § 4.7b
(a) Definitions. The following definitions apply for purposes of this section:
Appropriate official. “Appropriate official” means the master or commanding officer, or authorized agent, owner, or consignee, of a commercial vessel; this term and the term “carrier” are sometimes used interchangeably.
Carrier. See “Appropriate official.”
Commercial vessel. “Commercial vessel” means any civilian vessel being used to transport persons or property for compensation or hire.
Crew member. “Crew member” means a person serving on board a vessel in good faith in any capacity required for normal operation and service of the voyage. In addition, the definition of “crew member” applicable to this section should not be applied in the context of other customs laws, to the extent this definition differs from the meaning of “crew member” contemplated in such other customs laws.
Emergency. “Emergency” means, with respect to a vessel arriving at a U.S. port due to an emergency, an urgent situation due to a mechanical, medical, or security problem affecting the voyage, or to an urgent situation affecting the non-U.S. port of destination that necessitates a detour to a U.S. port.
Ferry. “Ferry” means any vessel which is being used to provide transportation only between places that are no more than 300 miles apart and which is being used to transport only passengers and/or vehicles, or railroad cars, which are being used, or have been used, in transporting passengers or goods.
Passenger. “Passenger” means any person being transported on a commercial vessel who is not a crew member.
United States. “United States” means the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (beginning November 28, 2009).
(b) Electronic arrival manifest—(1) General requirement. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, an appropriate official of each commercial vessel arriving in the United States from any place outside the United States must transmit to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) an electronic passenger arrival manifest and an electronic crew member arrival manifest. Each electronic arrival manifest:
(2) Place and time for submission—(i) General requirement. The appropriate official must transmit each electronic arrival manifest required under paragraph (b)(1) of this section to the CBP Data Center, CBP Headquarters:
(ii) Amendment of crew member manifests. In any instance where a crew member boards the vessel after initial submission of the manifest under paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section, the appropriate official must transmit amended manifest information to CBP reflecting the data required under paragraph (b)(3) of this section for the additional crew member. The amended manifest information must be transmitted to the CBP data Center, CBP Headquarters:
(3) Information required. Each electronic arrival manifest required under paragraph (b)(1) of this section must contain the following information for all passengers and crew members, except that for commercial passenger vessels, the information specified in paragraphs (b)(3)(iv), (v), (x), (xii), (xiii), (xiv), (xvi), (xviii), and (xix) of this section must be included on the manifest only on or after October 4, 2005:
(c) Exceptions. The electronic arrival manifest requirement specified in paragraph (b) of this section is subject to the following conditions:
[CBP Dec. 05-12, 70 FR 17850, Apr. 7, 2005, as amended by CBP Dec.09-02, 74 FR 2836, Jan. 16, 2009; CBP Dec. 09-14, 74 FR 25388, May 28, 2009]