The Federal Maritime Commission this week ordered German container shipper Hamburg Sud to pay $17.6 million to OJ Commerce, an American e-commerce business, adding millions of dollars to the penalty an administrative law judge imposed last year after Hamburg retaliated against OJC for threatening to file a complaint with the FMC. The commission also appeared to adopt a broader interpretation of carrier "refusal to deal" violations.

Ocean carrier ZIM Integrated Shipping Service Ltd. and logistics firm CEVA Freight violated the Shipping Act by charging the “unreasonable” sum of $180,860 for the detention of three containers that the U.S. government temporarily seized at the Port of Charleston in South Carolina, International Lumber Imports (ILI) said in a complaint filed with the Federal Maritime Commission last week.

The Federal Maritime Commission is asking for public comments on an information collection related to ocean common carriers that are subject to the FMC’s regulations. The notice said controlled carriers must ensure that they don’t maintain rates or charges in their tariffs and service contracts “that are below a level that is just and reasonable; nor establish, maintain, or enforce unjust or unreasonable classifications, rules, or regulations in those tariffs or service contracts that result or are likely to result in the carriage or handling of cargo at rates or charges that are below a just and reasonable level.” Public comments are due Oct. 22.

Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel hopes to issue a final report later this year that will expand on ways carriers, ports, railroads and others can better share supply chain data and real-time shipping information, he said this week. Bentzel said he believes the government eventually should turn some of the report’s recommendations into new mandates, including one that would require carriers to provide shippers with live, in-transit updates on their cargo.

A direct final rule released by the Federal Maritime Commission this week will set requirements for how and when the official FMC seal can be used. It’s also meant to prevent “any outside person or organization” from using the seal without commission approval, the FMC said, adding that there have “been recent occurrences of use of the seal by outside parties that FMC believes is misuse of the seal. Having a codified policy will help to ensure that the seal is used for lawful purposes only.” Violators could face administrative action or criminal penalties, the commission said. The rule takes effect Oct. 15 unless the FMC receives a “significant adverse comment” on the new requirements by Sept. 12.

Federal Maritime Commissioner Louis Sola is “confident” Panama will take needed steps to minimize future disruptions to the Panama Canal after a drought lowered water levels and impacted supply chains in recent months (see 2401180050), Sola said in a press release this week. Sola, who recently visited with Panamanian officials alongside FMC Chair Daniel Maffei (see 2407290041), said there will “always” be supply chain challenges but that he is “optimistic that continuing collaboration between the FMC and key officials in Panama will result in improving the efficiencies of this critical global trade route,” the release said.

The Federal Maritime Commission issued a “policy statement” this week to explain that it can use subpoena authority and other “administrative investigatory authorities” when probing agreements between and among ocean carriers and marine terminal operators that may be anticompetitive.

The Senate Appropriations Committee unveiled an FY 2025 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act last week that would provide $45 million for the Federal Maritime Commission, $3.5 million below the Biden administration’s request but $5 million above the FY 2024 enacted level and $2 million above the House version of the bill (see 2406260007).

Members of the Federal Maritime Commission are traveling to the Panama Canal this week to examine the supply chain aftereffects from a recent drought (see 2401180050). The FMC also will review the measures the Panamanian government and the Panama Canal Authority “have identified to improve the infrastructure of the Canal and make it more resilient to any future disruptions, particularly droughts.”

The Federal Maritime Commission continues to consider a request to delay its new final rule on demurrage and detention billing requirements, said Rich Roche, who chairs the Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier Subcommittee of the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America.