FMC Checking Carrier, Terminal Compliance With Recent Detention Charges Ruling

The Federal Maritime Commission is "actively seeking information" to confirm whether ocean carriers and marine terminal operators are complying with a recent ruling about per diem detention charges, the FMC said March 23.

Under the ruling, issued in December over a dispute between Taiwan carrier Evergreen and U.S.-based TCW, the FMC said carriers and MTOs can't charge per diem if a port is closed and equipment can't be returned. The FMC said it ordered Evergreen to “cease and desist from imposing per diem charges when imposition of per diem charges does not serve its incentivizing purposes, such as when empty equipment cannot be returned on weekends, holidays, and port closures.”

As part of a carrier audit program launched in 2021 (see 2107210010), the FMC said it will contact the 11 largest ocean carriers in the U.S. to confirm that these shipping lines "are adjusting their demurrage and detention practices accordingly."

The commission also said it's "simultaneously" conducting an outreach effort to ensure compliance with the FMC's May 2020 rule on detention and demurrage (see 2004290037). The commission in April 2022 finished its first round of meetings with carriers under a separate export services audit effort, which is examining carriers' export strategies surrounding agricultural exports (see 2204250012 and 2203210026).