Descartes Systems Group is buying export compliance solutions and content provider OCR Services, it said March 28. Descartes acquired OCR for about $90 million.
Ocean carriers COSCO Shipping Lines and Orient Overseas Container Line Limited violated U.S. shipping regulations when they failed to perform their “inland transportation obligations," charged unfair detention and demurrage fees, and refused to release cargo, Samsung Electronics America said in two separate complaints filed with the Federal Maritime Commission on March 28.
CBP named Marty Raybon its new director of field operations for CBP's Detroit Field Office, the agency announced on March 25. Raybon will now be responsible for overseeing the Ambassador Bridge, the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, Detroit Metropolitan Airport, the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, and the forthcoming Gordie Howe International Bridge, the agency said. Prior to this assignment, Raybon served as the executive director for CBP’s National Targeting Center.
The auto industry is grappling with a range of questions about how the EU’s upcoming forced labor-related rules will affect their supply chains, especially for individual car components, an auto industry official and lawyer said this week.
A U.S. protective equipment supplier accused Mediterrenaen Shipping Co., FedEx Trade Networks Transport & Brokerage, and Total Terminals International of assessing unfair detention and demurrage, failing to extend free time and failing to send an invoice for other charges, it said in a complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission.
The Federal Maritime Commission approved a settlement between Rahal International and Hapag-Lloyd and dismissed the complaint between both parties. The settlement, approved on March 15, comes after Rahal accused Hapag-Lloyd in June of failing to establish adequate facilities to return empty containers to the Port of New York and New Jersey and unfairly charging detention and demurrage (see 2307050034).
The Federal Maritime Commission has hired Mohammad “Ali” Usman as its new chief information officer. Usman will direct information technology and serve as the "primary IT technical advisor to the Managing Director" as of March 11, the FMC said. Usman joins FMC from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, where he was chief technology officer.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association called on President Joe Biden to help restart labor contract negotiations between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, in a letter dated March 12. The labor contract covering East Coast and Gulf Coast ports expires at the end of September, and the negotiations have been stalled since March 2023, the AAFA said.
Shippers continued to press the Federal Maritime Commission on why it allowed carriers to bill Red Sea-related surcharges without a 30-day notice, saying during a March 6 meeting of the National Shipping Advisory Committee that carriers failed to justify those charges.
COSCO Shipping Lines charged unfair detention and unfair chassis, storage, stop-off and redelivery fees, Access One Transport said in a complaint filed with the Federal Maritime Commission on March 1. The California-based motor carrier said that COSCO violated the Shipping Act by charging unfair fees when the containers couldn't be returned due to lack of appointments, dual transactions and specific actions by COSCO's and its terminals.