days ago, the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) issued a new regulation, explicitly mentioned that once the FMC found that the carrier to the shipper's fees charged "unreasonable", or other possible violations of the U.S. Maritime Reform Act "(the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022) behavior, the FMC will immediately order the carrier to refund the fees. The new rules will take effect in April this year.
Specifically, with regard to the "unreasonable" charges, FMC explained that the carrier would have to pay the shipper a refund if it found that the invoice provided by the carrier to the shipper contained "inaccurate information" or that the information on the invoice provided did not meet FMC's requirements. The amount of the refund will take into account the nature, circumstances and severity of the carrier's "unreasonable conduct".
For violations of the U.S. Maritime Reform Act, FMC will order the carrier to refund the shipper has paid the fee.
FMC emphasizes that the invoice content at least needs to reflect the following information:
-Container availability date
(Date that container is made available)
-Port of discharge
(Port of discharge)
-Container number
(Container number)
-Export container earliest return date
(Earliest return date for export containers)
-Free box period
(Number of allowed free-time days for holding containers)
-No box period start and end time
(Free time start and end dates)
-Based on freight standard demurrage rules
(Applicable detention or demurrage rule on which the daily rate is based)
-Total amount payable
(Total amount due)
-Contact information for questions or fee waiver requests
(Contact information for questions or requests for mitigation of fees)
-Declaration of compliance with FMC regulations on demurrage and demurrage
(statement that the charges are consistent with any of FMC rules with respect to detention and demurrage)
-Declare that the common carrier's performance did not result in or incur the relevant invoice costs
(statement that the common carrier's performance did not cause or contribute to the underlying invoiced charges)
Peter Friedmann, executive director of the American Agricultural Transportation Union, believes that the new rules issued by FMC are still not enough for carriers. It said that the U.S. Congress is currently considering new maritime regulations, which may involve stricter supervision and penalties for carriers.
It is worth noting that in June 2022, the US Maritime Reform Act was officially signed. The bill is considered to be more beneficial to U.S. exporters, and it also gives FMC greater investigative powers. More regulatory measures for carriers have been announced, which also means that liner companies will face stricter supervision in the United States.
Source: China Shipping Weekly