The Federal Maritime Commission may need to change the way it adjudicates emergency surcharge waivers requested by carriers, at least one shipping industry official said during an informal Feb. 7 FMC hearing on Red Sea shipping disruptions.
The Federal Maritime Commission's Feb. 7 informal meeting on the Red Sea shipping-related disruptions will feature opening and closing remarks by the chairman and commissioners, as well as panels featuring representatives from ports, carriers and the shipping industry, according to the schedule released Feb. 2. The hearing was announced in January in response to attacks on commercial shipping by Houthi rebels in Yemen (see 2401120057).
Members of the National Retail Federation are seeing a rise in freight rates and ocean carrier transportation costs and want to make sure that those new fees and surcharges "actually cover real costs and are not intended for profit," Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president of supply chain and customs policy, told Congress this week.
The Federal Maritime Commission on Jan. 29 approved a request from Taiwanese carrier Wan Hai Lines to immediately impose a westbound Red Sea Surcharge for certain cargo that must be diverted away from the region due to attacks by Houth rebels. Carriers typically need to wait 30 days before imposing a new surcharge, but Wan Hai asked the FMC for an exception to help recover the costs of having to take a longer path around Southern Africa's Cape of Good Hope.
U.S. Importer CertiFit continued to accuse Evergreen Shipping Agency of violating the Shipping Act, saying in a reply brief this week to the Federal Maritime Commission that Evergreen Shipping gave unreasonable preference to other shippers, unreasonably refused to deal or negotiate and failed to establish "just and reasonable practices" with its cargo. CertiFit also said the FMC has jurisdiction over the case because Evergreen Shipping is a common carrier, one of the main arguments disputed by Evergreen Shipping.
A Federal Maritime Commission hearing on the current conditions in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden will be held Feb. 7 and, if necessary, continue Feb. 8, according to a Federal Register notice. Those who want to testify or submit written testimony must email the FMC secretary before Jan. 31 at 5 p.m. EST, the notice said. The hearing, beginning at 10 a.m., will be held at the Surface Transportation Board in Washington, D.C.
More than 80% of cargo is now moving around the Cape of Good Hope due to Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea and low Panama Canal water levels (see 2312200045), Nathan Strang, a director of ocean freight at Flexport, said during a Jan. 18 company webinar.
Dependable Highway Express charged an importer detention and demurrage on behalf of Mediterranean Shipping Co. after the ocean carrier had waived the charge, importer ICL USA said in a complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission. DHE also assessed ICL a 10% surcharge on the fees, in violation of its contractual role as a trucker.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America is asking members to comment on Red Sea shipping experiences ahead of a Federal Maritime Commission meeting on Feb. 7 (see 2401120057). A Jan. 17 email sent by the NCBFAA asked members to share their experiences in the Red Sea and how diversions due to Houthi missile attacks have affected maritime shipping in the region. The association said it plans to compile the responses into an "industry-specific impact statement" that it plans to present at the FMC meeting.
The Federal Maritime Commission will host a public hearing Feb. 7 to look at how conditions in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are "impacting commercial shipping and global supply chains," the commission said Jan. 12. The FMC said the hearing will allow the shipping industry to share with the commission "how operations have been disrupted by attacks on commercial shipping emanating" from Houthi rebels in Yemen (see 2312200045).