FMC Dismisses Complaint Against Hapag-Lloyd for Lacking ‘Nexus’ to US Port
A Federal Maritime Commission administrative law judge this week dismissed a Los Angeles-based shipper’s complaint against ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd, saying the FMC has no jurisdiction because the case has “no nexus to a port in the United States.”
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
In its complaint, filed in July, Webtrans Logistics said that even though it told Hapag-Lloyd its containers didn't contain hazardous materials, the containers were not shipped on the intended vessel due to a “hazmat hold.” Webtrans said it incurred more than $22,700 in port charges as a result.
But the judge approved a motion to dismiss from Hapag-Lloyd, which argued that the transportation at issue was between two ports in foreign countries. Hapag-Lloyd provided an invoice showing the cargo was to be shipped from Vancouver, Canada, to Vietnam, the judge said.