Federal Maritime Commission 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document announces the availability of the Federal Maritime Commission's (Commission) draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) related to the proposed regulations on Demurrage and Detention Billing Requirements.

Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the National Shipper Advisory Commission (NSAC), pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

This document announces the availability of the Federal Maritime Commission's (Commission's) draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) related to the proposed regulations on Demurrage and Detention Billing Requirements.

The Federal Maritime Commission (Commission) is seeking public comment on a proposed rule that requires common carriers and marine terminal operators to include specific minimum information on demurrage and detention invoices and outlines certain billing practices relevant to appropriate timeframes for issuing invoices, disputing charges with the billing party, and resolving such disputes. The proposed rule addresses considerations identified in the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022. The proposed rule would adopt minimum information that common carriers must include in a demurrage or detention invoice; add to this list additional information that must be included in or with a demurrage or detention invoice; further define prohibited practices by clarifying which parties may be appropriately billed for demurrage or detention charges; and establish billing practices that billing parties must follow when invoicing for demurrage or detention charges.

The Federal Maritime Commission (Commission) is seeking public comment on its proposed rule arising from the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 requirement that prohibits ocean common carriers from unreasonably refusing to deal or negotiate with respect to vessel space accommodations. Specifically, the Commission is proposing to define the elements necessary to establish a violation and the criteria it will consider in assessing reasonableness.

The Federal Maritime Commission seeks public comment on whether congestion of the carriage of goods has created an emergency situation causing a substantial, adverse effect on the competitiveness and reliability of the international ocean transportation supply system. Information received in response to this request will help inform the Commission's decision on whether an emergency situation exists, and whether to issue an emergency order to address any such situation.

This final rule adopts without substantive change the proposed rule. The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC or Commission) seeks to update outdated references to Commission offices, modernize references to technology, and clarify existing requirements associated with the filing of marine terminal operator (MTO) schedules.

The Federal Maritime Commission (Commission) is issuing this final rule to adopt regulatory changes to its passenger vessel operator financial responsibility requirements. The Commission is defining when nonperformance of transportation has occurred and establishing uniform procedures regarding how and when passengers may make claims for refunds under a passenger vessel operator's financial responsibility instrument when nonperformance occurs. This rulemaking resulted from recommendations in an Interim Report issued by the Fact Finding Officer in Commission Fact Finding Investigation No. 30: COVID-19 Impact on Cruise Industry. In the August 25, 2021, Notice of proposed rulemaking, the Commission proposed to modify regulations to revise the definition of Unearned Passenger Revenue, adopt a definition of nonperformance of transportation, and detail the process for obtaining refunds under the PVOs' financial responsibility instruments filed with the Commission. Based on the comments received on the proposed rule, this final rule also clarifies that passengers must wait until the PVO refund period has ended as outlined in the PVO's claims procedure before making a claim against the financial instrument, or the claim has been denied by the PVO. Also, this final rule confirms that claims may be resolved between the passenger and the PVO as an alternative form of compensation. Finally, it creates a small business accommodation by delaying implementation of the new unearned passenger revenue definition by two years for small entities.

The Federal Maritime Commission (Commission) is issuing this notice to advise the public of the availability of three new policy statements related to private party complaints. The Commission adopted the recommendation of the Fact Finding Officer in Fact Finding No. 29: International Ocean Transportation Supply Chain Engagement to issue policy statements on the ability of shippers' associations and trade associations to file complaints with the Commission, the standard for recovering attorney fees in private party complaints, and the anti- retaliation provision of the Shipping Act.