The Federal Maritime Commission on May 2 rejected a proposed alliance among three Japanese steamship lines, finding it had no jurisdiction because the agreement was actually a merger, the FMC said (here). The Tripartite Agreement was filed on March 24 by Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K-Line), Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), seeking authority to share information with each other in advance of a merger next year. “After careful consideration, the Commission determined that parties to the Tripartite Agreement were ultimately establishing a merged, new business entity and that action is among the type of agreements excluded from FMC review,” the FMC said.

The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners "is expected" to approve Mario Cordero, a current member and recent chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, as executive director on April 14, the Port of Long Beach said in a news release (here). Cordero will succeed Duane Kenagy, the interim executive director since late 2016, and is expected to join the port in May, it said. “The broad perspective I gained at the national level, along with my many years of service as a Long Beach Harbor Commissioner and my love for the community of Long Beach, will allow me to hit the ground running," Cordero said. The decision follows a "comprehensive international search,” Harbor Commission President Lori Ann Guzman said. “Mario not only has a deep understanding of the maritime industry from his leadership of the Federal Maritime Commission, but his service as a member of the Long Beach Harbor Commission gives him extensive knowledge of the needs of our carriers, terminal operators, cargo owners, and other trade partners. Mario approaches challenges from a bipartisan, collaborative perspective and as we seek to keep our port thriving, his combination of national and local experience is well-suited to carry us into the future.”

Relieving ocean transportation intermediaries and vessel-operating common carriers from tariff publication requirements is “ripe” for Federal Maritime Commission consideration, FMC Acting Chairman Michael Khouri said in April 4 written testimony (here) to the House Transportation Maritime Transportation Subcommittee. Current law and FMC regulations require companies to publish rates that don’t have anything to do with actual market prices charged to shippers, as most ocean cargo movement occurs under terms of service contracts, according to Khouri. “Continuing to mandate thousands of tariffs be published that do not reflect real conditions in the market, and have minimal, if any, use by industry participants when negotiating service contracts, is a requirement and expense that regulated entities could be relieved of under the exemption authority provided to the Commission by Congress,” Khouri said.

The Federal Maritime Commission is issuing a final rule to amend its regulations covering non-vessel-operating common carrier (NVOCC) negotiated service arrangements, the FMC said (here). The rule will become effective May 5, and will allow NVOCCs to amend their service arrangements and immediately bring the changes into effect, as long as they’re written within 30 days before filing the changes with the FMC. Currently, the commission allows implementation of amendments only after they are formally filed with the FMC. The agency approved the final rule in March (see 1703070035).

Some major shipping lines, including the Moller-Maersk, Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd and Orient Overseas Container lines, were called to testify under a Justice Department antitrust investigation, Reuters reported on March 22 (here). The focus of the investigation remains unclear, according to the report. The DOJ Antitrust Division recently voiced some concerns with the shipping industry in comments to the Federal Maritime Commission (see 1611280024). Investigators for the DOJ gave out the subpoenas at a meeting of shipping executives in San Francisco last week, according to the Journal of Commerce (here), which first reported on the subpoenas. Spokesmen for Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk each confirmed that his company received a subpoena and said they would cooperate with the authorities. The DOJ didn't comment, nor did any the other companies mentioned.

International trade continues to have major benefits for Americans despite becoming an increasingly divisive issue, Federal Maritime Commission Commissioner Mario Cordero said during a March 20 speech for the International Shipping and Offshore Forum (here). "Many in the international trade community have grave concerns with not only the domestic debate questioning the benefits of international trade, but also the global debate," he said. "Let me make clear, international trade is a two-way street. Exports are as important as imports. True, there may be an imbalance on the export-import equation -- and I am a supporter of maximizing export opportunities -- yet, at the end of the day, the success of our U.S. exporters is dependent on a global consumer.”

Acting Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission Michael Khouri named FMC Managing Director Karen Gregory the commission’s regulatory reform officer, the FMC said in a news release (here). Gregory will head FMC’s Regulatory Reform Task Force, which “will work to identify burdensome, unnecessary, and outdated directives and recommend how they should be remedied.” An executive order issued by President Donald Trump on Feb. 24 requires each agency to set up a regulatory reform task force.

The Federal Maritime Commission approved regulatory updates to its rules for service contracts and non-vessel operating common carrier service arrangements, the agency said in a March 6 news release (here). The final rule will allow for "filing of sequential service contract amendments with the FMC within 30 days of the effective date of an agreement between shipper and carrier" and give additional time to correct technical data transmission errors, among other things, it said. "The Commission examined regulatory requirements for service contracts and NVOCC Service Arrangements in light of current commercial practice and has eliminated a number of burdensome regulatory requirements that served as obstacles to efficient ocean transportation arrangements, added unnecessary transactional costs, and served no regulatory purpose," Acting FMC Chairman Michael Khouri said. "Today’s action is consistent with recent executive orders highlighting the benefits of reducing unnecessary and costly regulations. I am committed to continuing to identify rules that are outdated, or impede the efficient operation of business, and eliminating them whenever possible." The text of the final rule will be posted soon, the FMC said.

A new clause in NYK Line's bill of lading terms and conditions involving the verified gross mass (VGM) amendments to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) seems "inappropriate and contravenes" U.S. law, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in a Feb. 3 filing with the Federal Maritime Commission (here). The NCBFAA specifically objects to the addition in clause 15 of the terms (here) that say the shipper is responsible for weighing costs and must provide the VGM for each container by a deadline established by a terminal or NYK. The clause also says NYK can reject a container "at its sole option" if no VGM is provided by the deadline and that the carrier won't be liable for any costs related to a rejection. The controversial VGM requirements went into effect last year (see 1607010041), though there's been little public controversy around the updated SOLAS since.

The Federal Maritime Commission reached settlements totaling $962,500 in civil penalties with a non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) and nine ocean transportation intermediaries, it said Dec. 15 (here). "The parties settled and agreed to penalties, but did not admit to violations of the Shipping Act or Commission regulations," it said. Of that total, $300,000 in civil penalties will be assessed against Honour Lane Shipping Limited, Global Ocean Agency Lines, and World Express Shipping, Transportation and Forwarding Services over allegations of illegal collaboration between the three companies, it said. Also penalized were RS Logistics, Hundai Glovis, World Wild Container Transfer, U-Ocean USA, United Transport Tankcontainers and LF Logistics, the FMC said.