The Federal Maritime Commission is seeking comments on potential changes to its rules for Carrier Automated Tariffs, including whether carrier tariffs should be available “free of charge” and if the definition of co-loading should be revised to apply only to “less than container loads.” Other proposed changes described in the rule, released May 9, would allow non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) to “cross reference certain aspects of other carriers’ terms in their tariffs,” clarify NVOCCs’ ability to “reflect increases in certain charges passed-through by other entities without notice,” require that documentation must be annotated with the names of all NVOCCs involved in a shipping transaction, and “make other miscellaneous updates and clarifications.”
The Federal Maritime Commission needs cooperation from the trade and logistics community to engage in meaningful enforcement, FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei said. Speaking last week at the annual National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference, Maffei said that he has been frustrated that "a lot of people expect the FMC to intervene on the side of small shippers" and don't understand the limits of the commission's authority.
The Federal Maritime Commission will now require global ocean carrier groups 2M, Ocean Alliance and THE Alliance to provide “enhanced” pricing and capacity information, the FMC announced May 5. The new information requirement will give the FMC more data to assess the “behavior” of ocean carriers, including information on the pricing of individual trade lanes by container and service type. The FMC now also will receive more carrier data “regarding capacity management decisions,” the agency said.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Hapag-Lloyd was ordered to pay $822,220 by a U.S. administrative law judge after a Federal Maritime Commission investigation determined the carrier imposed unfair detention fees, according to an April 22 decision. Hapag-Lloyd “acted unreasonably” by charging detention fees on a drayage provider that was unable to make appointments to return empty containers, the FMC’s Bureau of Enforcement said, and continued to impose the charges after they were disputed alongside “corroborating evidence.”
The Federal Maritime Commission recently published an instructional video to help industry file shipping complaints. The video explains which processes are “most beneficial to achieving a complainant’s desired outcome,” including how members of the public can report information that may trigger an investigation or initiate formal civil litigation that can provide wronged parties with damages and restitution, the FMC said.
The Federal Maritime Commission finished its first round of meetings with carriers under its new export services audit effort (see 2203210026), the agency said April 22. The meetings -- part of an expansion of the FMC’s Vessel-Operating Common Carrier Audit Program to examine how shipping lines can best serve U.S. exporters -- have resulted in “invaluable” information so far, FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei said.
The House’s ocean shipping bill contains some “troubling” export provisions and could place unfair burdens on carriers to meet exporter needs, said John Butler, a carrier industry official. But exporters view the provisions differently and think they could ensure carriers are treating both import and export shipments equitably, said Karyn Booth, a transportation lawyer.
Exporters told the Federal Maritime Commission that detention and demurrage invoices need to include the earliest return dates containers will be allowed at the terminal, and that "clock-stopping events," such as a lack of appointments to bring a container to the terminal, should also be on the invoices. However, the World Shipping Council said that while the earliest return date is something shippers need to know, they need to know it before a carrier invoice.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.