A bipartisan group of lawmakers urged the Federal Maritime Commission to penalize carriers that decline to carry U.S. agricultural exports and asked for monthly updates on the FMC’s investigation into the matter (see 2011200024 and 2102170060). In a March 9 letter, more than 100 House members said they are concerned by reports carriers are sending empty containers back overseas rather than filling them with exports because the carriers can charge higher rates for imports (see 2103050014). “Such activity constricts entire supply chains and propels trade to move only in an inbound direction,” the lawmakers said. “These conditions are unsustainable for exporters, put significant strain on the U.S. economy, and simply unacceptable.”

More than two dozen lawmakers urged the Federal Maritime Commission to penalize ocean carriers for declining to carry U.S. exports, saying the practices may violate shipping regulations and should be met with enforcement actions. Ocean carriers are denying bookings to U.S. exporters because the carriers can charge more for imports, 24 senators from both sides of the aisle said in a March 2 letter. In a separate letter, Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., said the practice is “extremely harmful” to U.S. farmers, especially apple and pear exporters in Washington state.

The maritime shipping industry is struggling to find a short-term solution to the unprecedented congestion occurring at U.S. ports, which continues to impose large costs on traders and further clog the global supply chain, industry representatives said. Although work is being done by the Federal Maritime Commission and Congress to provide relief, they said many of those efforts will do little to ease port issues in the near future.

The Federal Maritime Commission will begin issuing information demand orders to ocean carriers and terminal operators to determine if they are violating detention and demurrage practices, the FMC said Feb. 17. The orders will be sent to ocean carriers operating in an alliance and calling at the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach or the Port of New York and New Jersey, and will require them to provide information on how they impose detention and demurrage charges, and their policies related to container returns and container availability for exporters (see 2012090009), the commission said.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is hoping to fund an emergency maritime relief program to help unclog port congestion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and provide relief for U.S. shippers. The Maritime Transportation System Emergency Relief Program, created last year, could provide more resources to terminals that are seeing severe shortages in skilled labor and equipment, and help alleviate the nationwide backups in trucks and container vessels, House members said.

For weeks, dozens of container ships have dotted the waters of California's San Pedro Bay, waiting to unload at a port experiencing its highest level of congestion in years. With no space to drop their cargo, the ships sit in limbo, further slowing imports and exports and clogging a global trading system that some shippers view as broken.

The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America issued several tips for industry dealing with unfair detention and demurrage fees. In a Feb. 1 email to industry, the group said shippers and traders should try to work out a “satisfactory arrangement” with the billing party and should reference the Federal Maritime Commission’s guidance on fees (see 2009140045 and 2011170041). If a “reasonable solution” can’t be reached, the NCBFAA recommends reaching out to FMC’s Office of Consumer Affairs and Dispute Resolution Services and sending a report to the FMC, which is reviewing the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on ocean transportation (see 2012180038 and 2011200024). The group also recommends bringing a formal case before the FMC if fees climb higher than six figures.

The Federal Maritime Commission is seeking tips from industry on ocean carriers and terminal operators that are violating regulations on detention and demurrage fees, the FMC said Dec. 17. The information will be used to aid the commission’s investigation into the unfair charges (see 2011200024) that began after industry complained FMC’s May rule on detention and demurrage was being ignored (see 2009140045 and 2011170041).

The Federal Maritime Commission is probing whether ocean carriers are refusing to supply containers to inland U.S. agricultural exporters in order to send more empty containers to Asia, FMC Chairman Michael Khouri said. Those actions may violate FMC regulations, he said, including the Shipping Act. “This abandonment of a significant U.S. export industry -- the American agricultural industry -- is shutting them out of global markets,” Khouri said during the Dec. 8 Global Maritime Conference. “We are looking into all potential -- I repeat -- all potential responsive actions.”

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