Hapag-Lloyd violated U.S. shipping regulations when it failed to make containers available for pickup, causing demurrage charges for Wisconsin-based logistics company M.E. Dey to exceed more than $136,000, the company said in a complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission released last week. Dey said Hapag-Lloyd’s demurrage charges were “unreasonable,” and the FMC should require the ocean carrier to pay Dey reparations.
Shippers mostly supported the Federal Maritime Commission’s proposal for demurrage and detention billing requirements (see 2210070079 and 2203250028), saying in comments this month the new invoice requirements will bring more transparency to the industry. But at least two carriers continued to lobby for revisions to the proposed requirements, saying they could lead to burdensome new rules and wouldn’t result in more efficient container pickups and returns.
The Federal Maritime Commission’s proposed demurrage and detention billing requirements (see 2210070079) may lead to “unintended consequences” by only allowing “contracted parties to be charged with demurrage and detention fees,” the National Association of Chemical Distributors said Dec. 13 in comments to the FMC. NACD is “concerned that this requirement would in some cases force parties that are not responsible for the conduct that caused the incurrence of the demurrage and detention fees to be charged and liable for detention and demurrage fees,” NACD Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Jennifer Gibson said. “This would cause additional delays, add more time for demurrage fees to accrue unnecessarily, and increase the potential for disputes.”
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A Chinese freight forwarder asked the Federal Maritime Commission to dismiss an October complaint from a U.S. distributor accusing the forwarder of illegally trying to change the terms of a signed service contract and purposefully delaying 20 container shipments in order to submit higher detention and demurrage invoices (see 2210250021).
Major ocean carrier MSC violated U.S. shipping regulations because of its unreasonable demurrage practices, U.S. metal trader CCMA said. In a complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission released this week, CCMA said it was assessed more than $114,000 in unfair demurrage fees by MSC, which levied the charges despite the containers being subject to a government hold and unavailable for pickup. The FMC should order MSC to pay CCMA reparations for its “unlawful conduct,” the complaint said.
U.S.-based Omni Logistics violated shipping regulations when it failed to include required information on demurrage invoices for more than 200 containers, said TPG Pressure, a U.S. supplier of construction equipment and services. In a complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission dated Nov. 29, TPG said it was forced to pay Omni more than $860,000 in unfair fees before the company released its cargo, adding that Omni also invoiced TPG an additional $362,000 for “alleged services and costs.”
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (USA) Inc. violated the Shipping Act when it failed to meet “minimum” requirements related to its detention and demurrage invoices for container shipments from Russia to Seattle, construction services company Doka said in a recent complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission. Doka said MSC charged it more than $260,000 in detention and demurrage charges for delays that the shipping line had caused, calling its practices “unfair” and “unreasonable.” The FMC should order MSC to pay Doka reparations and force the shipping company to waive the fees, Doka said.
The Federal Maritime Commission issued a draft “Finding of No Significant Impact” for its recent proposed demurrage and detention billing requirements (see 2210070079), the agency said in a notice released last week. The finding will become final within 10 days of the notice’s publication in the Federal Register "unless a petition for review is filed," the FMC said. Petitions for review must be submitted on or before Dec. 9.
Flexport denied allegations by Indiana-based Philip Reinisch Co. that it violated the Shipping Act and asked the Federal Maritime Commission to dismiss the September complaint, which said Flexport failed to include required information on more than $100,000 worth of detention and demurrage charge invoices (see 2210040021).