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THE US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has approved two initiatives that aim to rein in what shippers call the egregious billing practices of ocean carriers around the use of containers, part of the FMC's efforts to better police international shipping.
The commission said its five members voted unanimously to approve the initiatives, which stem from Commissioner Rebecca Dye's probe of how Covid-19 disrupted ocean supply chains. Over the course of 2020, the probe became more narrowly focused on the congestion facing landside transportation and logistics.
The first initiative will provide more immunity to truckers and shippers that complain about unreasonable bills from ocean carriers. The FMC will issue a policy statement prohibiting retaliation against vendors and customers that level complaints against ocean carriers, the extent of legal damages that may be assessed for complaints made against ocean carriers, and the specific parties that can file such complaints.
The FMC also voted to move forward on asking whether new rules are needed that would require ocean carriers and marine terminal operators to disclose additional information when billing for detention and demurrage and the timing of such charges.
The vote approved an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, which would allow interested parties the chance to chime in on the new rules.
The FMC's last formal rulemaking on detention and demurrage came in April 2020 when the agency said that such fees should only be used as a way to prompt customers to retrieve containers in a timely manner.
Along with policing detention and demurrage, the FMC said it approved the hiring of additional staff to its dispute resolution division, reports IHS Media.
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