demurrage and detention

Congress passes ocean shipping reform; Biden plans to sign soon

Container vessel at Port of Los Angeles

The first major overhaul of regulations governing U.S. container trades since 1998 was easily approved by Congress on Monday and President Biden is expected to sign the bill into law shortly.

By a vote of 369-42, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) of 2022, which is the Senate’s version of a reform bill passed by the House in December.

The legislation, which broadens the powers of the Federal Maritime Commission to address unfair business practices on the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/congress-passes-ocean-shipping-reform-biden-plans-to-sign-soon

Ocean Shipping Reform Act’s critical provisions — and their deadlines 

Container ship docked at the Port of Los Angeles

Congress will soon schedule a vote — as early as next week — on the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022. With bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, the bill is likely to pass.

The largest overhaul of shipping regulations since 1998, the legislation broadens the regulatory powers of the Federal Maritime Commission with the goal of promoting U.S. exports while reining in ocean carrier market power that has strengthened over the last 25 years, primarily through the rise of vessel alliances.

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ocean-shipping-reform-acts-critical-provisions-and-their-deadlinesnbsp

Hapag-Lloyd will pay $2M to settle detention and demurrage case

Hapag-Lloyd said Thursday it was “pleased” with an agreement reached with the Federal Maritime Commission to pay the U.S. government a $2 million civil penalty to settle alleged Shipping Act violations related to its detention and demurrage practices. 

According to a settlement petition, the FMC’s Bureau of Enforcement (BOE) and Hapag-Lloyd came to agreement in mid-May, after an administrative law judge determined the ocean carrier was “in violation of 46 U.S.C. § 41102(c), assessed civil...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/hapag-lloyd-will-pay-2m-to-settle-detention-and-demurrage-case

GSCW chat: US exporters’ fight for market share

This fireside chat recap is from Day 5 of FreightWaves’ Global Supply Chain Week.

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: U.S. exporters battle to overcome supply chain service issues.

DETAILS: A year after discussing challenges that were just beginning to roil the U.S. agricultural export markets, Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition, comes back to Global Supply Chain Week to talk about changes in the market since then. Notable among them are the struggle by shippers to...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/gscw-chat-us-exporters-fight-for-market-share

FMC to consider regulating ocean carrier billing practices

The Federal Maritime Commission is considering regulating how ocean carriers bill their customers for late fees related to picking up and dropping off containers.

An Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) approved by the agency on Friday sets out the details of the proposal setting standards for demurrage and detention billing and seeks public comment to help shape it.

Carriers charge demurrage when full containers have not been picked up by their customers — taking up valuable terminal...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmc-to-consider-regulating-ocean-carrier-billing-practices

Senate introduces ocean shipping reform bill

The U.S. Senate introduced on Thursday its version of legislation aimed at promoting U.S. exports while curbing carriers’ power over both container service and equipment fees charged to shippers.

The Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) is similar to legislation that passed overwhelmingly late last year in the U.S. House, though it lacks some of the specifics of the earlier bill. Both bills would give the Federal Maritime Commission authority to initiate rulemakings, making it more difficult for...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/senate-introduces-ocean-shipping-reform-bill

Seroka: National Guard is ‘backup plan’ for LA port congestion

Three large container ships with black hulls and MSC painted on the side tied up at a large wharf with cranes.

The Port of Long Beach reported Thursday it handled 8.6 million shipping units through November, smashing its all-timeannual volume record before the year is done amid relentless consumer demand for imported goods. Next door in Los Angeles, the port director said using the National Guard to evacuate containers is still an option if more cargo lingers beyond its move-by date and terminal congestion worsens again.

Officials at the San Pedro Bay ports this week trumpeted how the threat of hefty...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/seroka-national-guard-is-backup-plan-for-la-port-congestion

Captive cargo: Small businesses most at risk from SoCal port gridlock

Aerial view of a large container terminal at a port, with cranes and containers.

Punitive charges that went into effect Monday at the Port of Los Angeles for containers left on the docks too long are a last resort to help shippers retrieve urgent cargo trapped under a massive backlog, said Executive Director Gene Seroka at Friday’s emergency Harbor Commission meeting. He implored large companies that don’t need products right away, and have overflowing warehouses, to find alternative storage in the region so small businesses can get orders they need to survive.

“There is no...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/captive-cargo-small-businesses-most-at-risk-from-socal-port-gridlock

FMC waits for details on California port surcharges

Containers and cranes in the background at a big port.

The surprise decision by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach this week to impose hefty surcharges on ocean carriers that take too long removing containers from overcrowded terminals has raised more questions than answers. Freight industry professionals — and the Federal Maritime Commission — want to know where the twin ports are getting the authority  to levy the surcharges.

Port officials announced the fees on Monday and the two harbor commissions will vote to approve them on Friday, but...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmc-waits-for-details-on-california-port-surcharges

SoCal ports could fine carriers for tardy containers by Nov. 15

Aerial view of containers stacked at a port.

Port authorities in Los Angeles and Long Beach plan to start assessing and collecting late fees on loaded import containers that remain on the docks for extended periods as soon as Nov. 15. The information was disclosed in agendas for emergency meetings of the respective harbor commissions on Friday.

The boards will vote on plans submitted by port staff to charge ocean carriers $100 per day, increasing in $100 increments per container per day, for containers scheduled to move locally by truck...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/socal-ports-could-fine-carriers-for-tardy-containers-by-nov-15

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