The Federal Maritime Commission this week approved a settlement between logistics company M.E. Dey & Co. and ocean carrier Hapag-Lloyd and dismissed M.E. Dey & Co.’s complaint against Hapag-Lloyd.

Maersk, which owns German container shipper Hamburg Sud, is “disappointed” that the Federal Maritime Commission ordered Hamburg Sud to pay $17.6 million to Florida-based e-commerce business OJ Commerce for Shipping Act violations, a Maersk spokesperson said Aug. 29.

The Federal Maritime Commission this week ordered AAF Logistics, a California-based non-vessel operating common carrier, to pay more than $291,000 to Chicago-based distributor Color Brands, which accused AAF in 2022 of charging for cargo insurance it didn't obtain and improperly denying damaged cargo claims.

Ocean carrier ZIM Integrated Shipping Service Ltd. and logistics firm CEVA Freight violated the Shipping Act by charging the “unreasonable” sum of $180,860 for the detention of three containers that the U.S. government temporarily seized at the Port of Charleston in South Carolina, International Lumber Imports (ILI) said in a complaint filed with the Federal Maritime Commission last week.

Shipping company OL USA notified the Federal Maritime Commission last week that it has reached a settlement agreement with Maersk, which it accused in February of violating the Shipping Act by failing to keep its "automated tariff system" open for public inspection (see 2402200007).

Importer ICL USA, which filed a complaint with the Federal Maritime Commission against trucker Dependable Highway Express and ocean carrier Mediterranean Shipping Co. seven months ago (see 2401170077), joined the other companies this month in submitting a notice of voluntary dismissal of the case.

The U.S. Navy is trying to help commercial cargo ships maintain the alternative trade routes companies have found as the U.S. works to end Houthi attacks on ships transiting the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, Vice Admiral George Wikoff said. And although the U.S. has used sanctions to target several Iran-backed networks helping to supply the Houthis, he said the U.S.-designated terror group is increasingly diversifying its suppliers and is becoming a legitimate technology exporter.

Federal Maritime Commissioner Louis Sola is “confident” Panama will take needed steps to minimize future disruptions to the Panama Canal after a drought lowered water levels and impacted supply chains in recent months (see 2401180050), Sola said in a press release this week. Sola, who recently visited with Panamanian officials alongside FMC Chair Daniel Maffei (see 2407290041), said there will “always” be supply chain challenges but that he is “optimistic that continuing collaboration between the FMC and key officials in Panama will result in improving the efficiencies of this critical global trade route,” the release said.

Texas-based freight forwarder Sealink International (SLI) illegally sold the cargo of California-based exporter Triple L Global (TLG) to an unknown buyer without permission and without the required 10-day written notice, TLG alleged in a complaint filed with the Federal Maritime Commission this week.

Members of the Federal Maritime Commission are traveling to the Panama Canal this week to examine the supply chain aftereffects from a recent drought (see 2401180050). The FMC also will review the measures the Panamanian government and the Panama Canal Authority “have identified to improve the infrastructure of the Canal and make it more resilient to any future disruptions, particularly droughts.”