Rebecca Dye

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

Regulators eye new container-fee rules to address alleged overcharging

In the wake of complaints that ocean carriers are overcharging customers, federal regulators are considering new rules related to fees imposed by ocean carriers for the use of their containers by shippers.

The Federal Maritime Commission voted last week to solicit public comments on two questions:

  • Whether the commission should require ocean common carriers and marine terminal operators to include certain minimum information on or with demurrage and detention billings.
  • Whether the commission...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/regulators-eye-new-container-fee-rules-to-address-alleged-overcharging

FMC’s Maffei says capacity demand won’t recede ‘until late 2022’

For logistics managers around the world, planning a budget for next year will be as easy as swimming in cement shoes. The inverted ratio for supply and demand is not expected to right itself anytime soon — and that means prices will continue to soar. 

Importers and exporters have expressed their concerns to the Biden administration, Congress and the Federal Maritime Commission. While optimism has increased after the executive order on supply chain competition and FMC Commissioner Rebecca Dye’s...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/fmcs-maffei-says-capacity-demand-wont-recede-until-late-2022

US company sues ‘collusive’ ocean carriers, alleging price manipulation

A U.S. manufacturer is accusing two of the world’s largest ocean carriers of reneging on its container service contract for imports from Asia so that the carriers can instead charge other shippers exorbitant transportation rates on the spot market.

In a complaint filed on Wednesday with the Federal Maritime Commission, Easton, Pennsylvania-based MCS Industries, a maker of household furnishings, also accuses China’s COSCO Shipping Lines, Switzerland’s MSC Mediterranean Shipping and their...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/us-company-sues-collusive-ocean-carriers-alleging-price-manipulation

Maersk collaborating to ‘alleviate supply chain pain points’

A.P. Møller – Maersk said it is taking container congestion and intermodal equipment scarcity seriously and addressing “the concerns of the U.S. export community and the trucking industry feeling the impact during this already difficult time.”

Maersk North America said in a press release Monday that as a result of “surging U.S. imports and the resulting intermodal equipment flow imbalances, all members of the logistics sector have been challenged to find solutions. Maersk senior officials have...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/maersk-collaborating-to-alleviate-supply-chain-pain-points

Commentary: AgTC applauds FMC’s push of Shipping Act mandates

The Agriculture Transportation Coalition and a broad array of exporters, importers, truckers, forwarders — essentially the entire American shipping public — is encouraged and grateful to the Federal Maritime Commission leaders for their initiatives this past week. 

For several years, we have petitioned the FMC to intervene to help U.S. ag exporters (and all shippers) survive debilitating and unfair detention and demurrage, punitive “free time” policies (imposed on smaller shippers and...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/commentary-agtc-applauds-fmcs-push-of-shipping-act-mandates

News alert: Regulators warn container lines to stop refusing US exports

Growing allegations of ocean carriers abandoning U.S. exporters by not providing empty containers for shipments to Asia have led to heightened scrutiny for potential Shipping Act violations.

In a joint letter sent on Wednesday to the World Shipping Council (WSC) from the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), FMC commissioners Carl Bentzel and Daniel Maffei said that because of the current surge in containerized imports at U.S. ports, it is “imperative” that there be balance between carriers’ import...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/news-alert-regulators-warn-container-lines-to-stop-refusing-us-exports

FMC extends coronavirus-related service contract filing flexibility

Federal Maritime Commission

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) on Thursday afternoon voted to extend an order that allows service contracts to be filed up to 30 days after they take effect to provide relief to shippers, freight forwarders and consolidators, and ocean container carriers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

The initial order, which the FMC approved on April 27, had been scheduled to expire Dec. 31. However, the commission approval of the order’s extension will provide the ocean container shipping...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/fmc-extends-coronavirus-related-service-contract-filing-flexibility

FMC finds NY/NJ port ‘minimally impacted’ operationally by COVID-19

Port of New York and New Jersey

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) found that the coronavirus pandemic has minimally impacted container shipping operations within the Port of New York and New Jersey compared to what was experienced in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in Southern California the first half of this year.

The FMC conducted numerous interviews with New York/New Jersey port and shipping industry officials as part of its ongoing Fact Finding 29, which the agency launched earlier this year to evaluate...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/fmc-finds-nynj-port-minimally-impacted-operationally-by-covid-19

How the FMC monitors ‘blank sailings’ and their competitive impacts

U.S. Federal Maritime Commission

The coronavirus pandemic has made the schedule-driven ocean container carriers seasick. To counter decreased U.S. import volumes and maximize vessel operations, these companies have resorted to the use of “blank,” or canceled, sailings.

Shippers and non-vessel-operating common carriers have struggled to manage their own fragile supply chains against hundreds of skipped-sailings announcements in recent months.

While blank sailings offer ocean container carriers a means to economize their...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/how-the-fmc-monitors-blank-sailings-and-their-competitive-impacts

+ More