The Federal Maritime Commission is hoping to release a rule this fall that would create a registry for national shipping exchanges, FMC Chair Daniel Maffei said during a May 29 event hosted by the Consumer Technology Association. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 gave the FMC until June 2025 to craft the rule, and lawmakers have called on the FMC to provide a counterbalance to China's Shanghai Shipping Exchange, which they said is poised to become a monopoly without more competition (see 2402020060).
CBP is renewing its electronic export manifest pilot for vessel cargo through May 31, 2026, the agency said in a notice issued May 30. The two year extension will help the agency determine "whether electronic submission of manifests will allow for improvements in the functionality and capabilities at the departure level."
The Federal Maritime Commission collected more than $2.3 million in fines after entering into compromise agreements with three companies, the FMC said May 29. The companies, CMA-CGM, Vangaurd Logistics Services and Shipco Transport, paid money to resolve various allegations of shipping violations that had been investigated by the commission’s Bureau of Enforcement, Investigations and Compliance.
A Flexport spokesperson this week disputed U.S.-based Giti Tire's allegations that Flexport violated U.S. shipping laws (see 2405200019), saying the logistics company tried "everything" to resolve the dispute, but Giti "refused to pay their obligations."
The Federal Maritime Commission's recently issued final rule on detention and demurrage billing requirements was "silent" on some of the recommendations the National Shipping Advisory Committee has offered in recent months (see 2403070061), said Rich Roche, NSAC member and senior vice president at Mohawk Global.
The Federal Maritime Commission is investigating conditions imposed by the Canadian government that "may adversely affect" the operation of U.S. carriers in the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes trade, the FMC said. The new Canadian regulations, which are set to take effect in September, would require U.S. vessels to install new ballast water management systems, the FMC said in a notice released May 21.
Flexport violated U.S. shipping laws by charging unfair detention and demurrage fees and millions of dollars in other "accessorial charges" at unreasonable rates, U.S.-based Giti Tire said in a complaint filed with the Federal Maritime Commission May 16. It alleged Flexport's invoices lacked required information, were "excessive and unreasonable" and duplicated charges also invoiced to another party, leading to $12.7 million in damages.
The Senate on May 14 retroactively confirmed the ongoing terms of Daniel Maffei as chair of the Federal Maritime Commission and Rebecca Dye as FMC commissioner. Maffei's term expires June 2027 and Dye's term expires June 2025. Neither FMC official had their appointment confirmed by the Senate at the beginning of their current terms.
PKDC, a Colorado-based furniture distributor, accused ocean carrier CMA CGM of refusing to meet its commitments to the distributor, coercing "extracontractual" payments from PKDC, and charging detention and demurrage for situations outside the distributor's control. The furniture distributor, in a complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission dated May 10, said it paid over $1 million in unreasonable detention and demurrage and that CMA CGM cost it over $12 million by refusing to meet its quantity commitments under the service contract.
International Express Trucking (IXT) accused COSCO Shipping Lines of charging unfair per diem charges during times when there was a chassis shortage, port congestion or a lack of return appointments, the motor carrier said in a complaint filed with the Federal Maritime Commission. In the complaint, dated May 7, IXT said COSCO from 2022 to 2023 charged the motor carrier $75,725 in per diem charges and didn't include relevant information, such as ports of discharge or the date the container had been made available, in the charges.