No FMC Filings During Shutdown, but Law Allows Cargo to Proceed
Federal Maritime Commission employees will not respond to email or phone inquiries during the shutdown, according to an update posted on the FMC website. Given the outage of several FMC databases (see 13100120), the commission will not be accepting filings for service contracts through SERVCON, Ocean Transportation Intermediary applications through the Automated OTI Application (FMC-18), or Tariff Registration Forms (FMC-1). It also won’t be accepting filings for ocean carrier or marine terminal operator agreements or amendments, or agreement monitoring reports, minutes, or transcripts. Complaints, requests for dispute resolution services, and ombudsman services won’t be accepted either.
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But a law addressing shipping when FMC services aren’t available will allow cargo to keep moving despite the shutdown, said Brandon Fried, executive director-Airforwarders Association. “One of the things we also found out is, that doesn’t mean that commerce comes to a standstill,” he said, citing the provision. “When they come back up again, you can then file.“