A dispute has escalated between Han Shin Marine Shipping (HMM) and Samsung Electronics America (SEA) over demurrage and Detention (D&D) charges during the outbreak.
Documents from a Los Angeles court show that South Korea's flagship liner HMM has filed a lawsuit against Samsung Electronics America, which is demanding nearly $13 million in unpaid payments from Samsung Electronics New York and California, while seeking dismissal of a complaint filed by Samsung Electronics America with the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC).
SEA Complaint: HMM Charged 96,000 "Incorrect" D&D Fees
Samsung Electronics America, which has previously filed complaints with the FMC against a range of liner companies including SM Line, filed what may be its largest complaint to date against HMM in early June, alleging that HMM had "incorrectly" charged some 96,000 D&D fees.
The statement filed by SEA says, "Beginning in mid-2020, HMM began repeatedly violating just and reasonable practices in connection with its inland transport obligations, including failing to timely ship SEA containers from U.S. marine and intermodal terminals and failing to timely transport SEA containers to their designated inland locations. At the same time, HMM began charging SEA substantially increased amounts for so-called D&D costs incurred as a result of inland transport."
SEA said HMM "offered a variety of excuses" for the charges, ranging from chassis and trucker shortages to congestion and bad weather.
Efforts by both sides to negotiate a resolution to the dispute apparently have not progressed, with HMM recommending a "case-by-case liability assessment" of all 96,000 charges.
HMM Listed as a Controlled Carrier by US FMC
On 1 July, HMM was once again the focus of the FMC, but this time for a completely different reason: the FMC announced via its website that it had classified HMM as a Controlled Carrier under the control of the South Korean government and added it to the FMC's list of Controlled Carriers.
A Controlled Carrier is an ocean carrier, as defined under U.S. shipping law, operating in the U.S., which itself or its operating assets are owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by a foreign government. Unless a treaty exists between the U.S. and the country in which the controlled carrier is located, controlled carriers are subject to "enhanced regulatory oversight" by the FMC.
The FMC's decision was prompted by the fact that two major shareholders, the Korea Industrial Bank (KDB) and the Korea Ocean Business Corporation (KOBC), hold approximately 57.9 per cent of HMM's shares.
https://www.cnss.com.cn/html/hyqy/20240717/354095.html
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