In response to “numerous inquiries,” the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has issued a reply to concerns about the implementation of port congestion charges, as announced by carriers, on shipments bound for the U.S. West Coast effective November 17.
The FMC said it has been “receiving numerous inquiries regarding the congestion surcharges for ‘labor unrest’ being implemented by ocean carriers as announced in tariff rules required to be published under the Shipping Act of 1984 and the Commission’s regulations at 46 CFR Part 520.”
It said that unless done with a waiver or exemption, any tariff rule (including surcharges) of a common carrier that results in an increased cost to a shipper “may not be effective earlier than 30 days after publication.”
It added: “Many carriers previously published in their tariffs advance or conditional notice of an intention to implement surcharges in the event certain conditions are experienced. All such carrier tariff rules, however, must be clear and definite as to the implementation and termination of the surcharge based upon specific criteria related to ‘labor unrest.’”
The Shipping Act and the commission’s regulations require that the rules applying to any given shipment must be those in effect on the date the cargo is received by the common carrier or its agent. “Thus, if any labor disruption were to occur at a port after cargo has been tendered by a shipper, a carrier may only lawfully charge the rates in effect on the day the cargo is tendered,” said FMC.
The U.S. maritime regulator said in an official statement released November 17: “The Commission continues to review congestion surcharge rules published in carrier tariffs and is gathering information from carriers regarding implementation of these surcharges.”
The Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (TSA), a group of shipping lines operating on the U.S.-Asia trade lanes, earlier announced surcharges of US$1,000 per FEU on containers passing through the U.S. West Coast ports from Asia due to port congestion as a result of labor unrest.
TSA said a survey of member-line costs associated with service interruptions and delays related to the issue revealed that lines are now incurring losses and expenses due to blanked sailings, skipped port calls, and speedup of existing vessels or chartering of added ships and equipment to maintain schedules.
Photo: Prayitno
