Federal Maritime Commission June 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

On March 21, 2023, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) published in the Federal Register a direct final rule and request for comment updating its user fees. The document inadvertently stated an incorrect amount for two fees. The document stated as the cost for certification/validation of documents as $93 instead of $107, and for Non-Attorney Admission to Practice as $195 instead of $229. This document corrects the error by aligning the fees as stated in the rule with those that were correctly identified in the 2023-3-07FY23 User Fee Control File provided in the docket as a supporting document.

The Federal Maritime Commission (Commission) issues this supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (SNPRM) to address a statutory requirement arising from the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 that prohibits ocean common carriers from unreasonably refusing to deal or negotiate with respect to vessel space accommodations and a related prohibition against unreasonably refusing cargo space accommodations. This proposal revises certain aspects of the proposed rule issued on September 21, 2022, by modifying defined terms and discussing the relationship between the United States Code and the elements required to establish violations of those provisions. This SNPRM is issued in response to comments to the original proposal and to more directly provide a potential standard for unreasonable conduct by ocean common carriers that prevents shippers from obtaining space aboard vessels for their cargo. In this SNPRM, the Commission proposes to: define unreasonable by stating a general principle and a non-exhaustive list of examples of unreasonable conduct; establish the elements for a refusal of cargo space accommodations; revise the definition of transportation factors to focus on vessel operation considerations; clarify that vessel space services were already included in the definition of vessel space accommodations and add a definition for cargo space accommodations; define documented export policy and add mandatory document export policy requirements; and remove the voluntary certification provision. The Commission seeks comments on these changes.