Hapag-Lot joined other liner carriers on Monday to no longer assess U.S. container storage charges when U.S. ocean terminals are closed and shippers or their short barge representatives cannot enter the terminals.
detention refers to the excess number of days for the shipper to park the container outside the terminal for more than the free time allowed by the contract. Demurrage is the storage fee charged by the terminal operator for loaded imported containers that exceed the free time stipulated in the carrier-shipper contract or the port free time tariff.
before the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is about to formulate rules on the charging policies of detention and demurrage charges for carriers and terminal operators, Hapag-Lot is the company that has made similar commitments after several major container companies including Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping and HMM.
the company said it was assessing whether to follow Maersk's lead and change its billing policy for assessing demurrage and demurrage on weekends and holidays, adding that we will not charge demurrage and demurrage when the gates are closed and the port ceases to operate due to holidays or any other events that cause the port to close."
Orient Overseas also stated in late March that its long-term practice is not to charge customers detention fees and demurrage fees for days when customers are unable to pick up the goods or put down the containers.
Hapag-Lot also said in a customer notice that it would begin issuing invoices for so-called commercial transportation detention fees to consignees. In this mode of transport, the consignee arranges for haulage from port to port. Maersk also promised to change this billing policy in early March.
FMC issued a rulemaking on withholding and demurrage bills before the deadline of mid-June, and began to investigate the free time billing practices of operators and terminals on March 23. This is the requirement of the "Shipping Reform Act 2022" (OSRA-22) signed by the President of the United States in June last year.
Forwardernet.com