The Nationwide Shipper Advisory Committee (NSAC) to the US Federal Maritime Fee (FMC) has met and adopted two suggestions that can be forwarded to the FMC for consideration.
First, concerning dwell charges, the NSAC recommends that the FMC “codify regulation … that prohibits any unreasonable software of fees on containers for dwell charges, whereas shifting the burden of proof to vessel operators and/or marine terminals and strengthening necessities for correct dispute decision.”
This subject was raised by the committee in response to the excessive demurrage and detention fees which have resulted from provide chain disruption and port congestion. In truth, they famous in assembly supplies, “some West Coast ports, and a few marine terminal operators (MTOs) have created new fees along with normal demurrage tariffs that concentrate on dwelling containers and are topic to quite a lot of schedules.”
Additional, they mentioned: “Whereas such fees could also be applicable from the marine terminal operator to the vessel operator, the pass-through from the vessel operator to the importer, or the direct billing from the MTO to the importer is often an space of abuse.”
The second suggestion requires an growth of the scope of the FMC to incorporate oversight of rail carriage and associated fees for by way of payments of lading.
The committee mentioned in pre-meeting supplies that “many shippers … tender cargo to ocean carriers from inland factors towards charges inclusive of rail and/or motor carriage that are quoted by the ocean carriers and subsequently filed with the FMC. There may be presently no ample dispute decision course of obtainable to shippers when disputes involving the rail portion of cargo motion, together with demurrage/rail storage and detention/per diem at rail ramps, invariably come up. Extra importantly, there may be presently no direct governmental oversight over the rail portion of those shipments nor over their operational execution.”
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Committee members want to see the FMC’s oversight begin on the invoice of lading degree by way of to the ultimate vacation spot outlined by the cargo events throughout the invoice of lading. “If the FMC has oversight over the events to the invoice of lading,” they mentioned, “it also needs to have oversight over the whole thing of phrases and situations to the invoice of lading.”
Each suggestions have been unanimously endorsed by NSAC members current on the assembly.
