Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching for the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
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).
A Chinese freight forwarder illegally tried to change the terms of its signed service contract with a U.S. distributor and purposefully delayed 20 container shipments so it could submit higher detention and demurrage invoices, the American company said in a complaint this month to the Federal Maritime Commission. Indiana distributor Way Interglobal also said China-based Shenzhen Unifelix, a von-vessel operating common carrier, “improperly” disclosed Way’s financial information to Shenzhen’s vendors to try to force Way into agreeing to a new contract.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Globerunners, a California-based shipper, said Texas-based Hoyer Global may have overcharged it in wharfage fees for a container held for years at a South Korean port. In a complaint this month to the Federal Maritime Commission, Globerunners said Hoyer never provided it with a copy of the detention and demurrage invoice Hoyer was given by the South Korean port. Globerunners believes Hoyer passed along fees higher than what the South Korean port charged.