The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) announced on Sept. 13, 2022, that it is seeking public comment on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) addressing what constitutes an unreasonable refusal to deal or negotiate with...more
Since its passage on June 16, 2022, the shipping industry is understandably focused on the implications of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA) (Pub. Law No. 117-146, 2022 Enacted S. 3580), and the rulemakings that...more
Commissioner Rebecca F. Dye of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC or the Commission) has released her Final Report for Fact Finding 29 titled "The Effects of COVID-19 on the U.S. International Ocean Transportation Supply...more
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC or the Commission) met during both open and closed session on Jan. 27, 2022, to discuss the Commission's efforts to address ocean carriers' detention and demurrage practices, as well as...more
2/8/2022
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Antitrust Division ,
Biden Administration ,
Common Carriers ,
Competition ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Maritime Commission ,
Maritime Transport ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Shipping ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Vessels
Cargo congestion has reached historic proportions during the COVID-19 pandemic as the demand for imports by U.S. consumers and businesses has skyrocketed combined with an increase in operational disruptions. The effect has...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) might have left many vessel operators wondering how to avoid an economic sanctions violation when OFAC added Venezuela's maritime authority,...more
The Federal Maritime Commission's (FMC) final rule "Docket No. 19-05, Interpretive Rule on Demurrage and Detention Under the Shipping Act" (Final Rule), which took effect on May 18, 2020, after being published in the Federal...more
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has issued a Final Rule allowing the Commission more flexibility in issuing exemptions with respect to service contracts filed by vessel operating common carriers (VOCCs). 85 Fed. Reg....more
• The seventh session of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR7) will be held in London on Feb. 18-22, 2020, with a number of the agenda items likely to impact...more
A steady stream of recent developments has flowed as the maritime industry grapples with implementing the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) 2020 global low-sulfur fuel rules. Recent announcements by the Suez Canal...more
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) voted in a closed session on Sept. 26, 2019, to eliminate the requirement for vessel operators to publish essential terms of their service contracts. The decision is a response to a...more
10/1/2019
/ Contract Terms ,
Federal Maritime Commission ,
Filing Requirements ,
Maritime Transport ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Proposed Rules ,
Service Agreements ,
Service Contracts ,
Shipping ,
Transportation Industry ,
Vessels
For background information regarding open-loop scrubber environmental studies by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportaiton and Tourism (MLIT) and the classification society Det Norske Veritas Germanischer...more
Comprehensive studies regarding the environmental effects of discharges from vessel's open-loop scrubbers released during the last several weeks by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT)...more
3/8/2019
/ Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
European Commission ,
Germany ,
Informational Studies ,
Japan ,
Maritime Transport ,
Ports ,
Vessels ,
Water
• The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has adopted an interpretive rule that tightens certain prohibitions under the 1984 Shipping Act. Specifically, the change tightens the Section 10(d)(a) prohibition against regulated...more
• On March 5, 2018, the Federal Maritime Commission directed Commissioner Rebecca F. Dye to initiate a fact finding investigation (Fact Finding 28) into demurrage and detention practices at U.S. ports.
• Commissioner Dye...more
12/12/2018
/ Advisory Board ,
Demurrers ,
Detention ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Exports ,
Federal Maritime Commission ,
Final Report ,
Imports ,
Maritime Transport ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Supply Chain
• The Federal Maritime Commission Authorization Act of 2017 was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Dec. 4, 2018, marking the first substantive revision to the U.S. Shipping Act, 46 U.S.C. § 40101 et seq. (the...more
12/6/2018
/ Amended Legislation ,
Anti-Competitive ,
Antitrust Provisions ,
Coast Guard ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Maritime Commission ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Maritime Transport ,
NVOCCs ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Tariffs ,
Trump Administration ,
Vessels
• According to a California statute set to take effect in January 2019, ocean carriers, marine terminal operators (MTOs) and shippers engaging port drayage motor carriers (PDMCs) that default on obligations to pay employees...more
10/2/2018
/ Blacklist ,
DLSE ,
Drivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Tax ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Maritime Transport ,
Motor Carriers ,
New Legislation ,
Ports ,
Shipping ,
State Labor Laws ,
Transportation Industry ,
Wage and Hour
In the wake of a hearing held by the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) in January regarding detention, demurrage, and per diem charges, the FMC voted on Monday, March 5, to launch an investigation focusing on the practices of...more
• Four bills are currently pending in Congress to repeal or limit the reach of the Jones Act, including three that are focused upon relief efforts to assist Puerto Rico after the disastrous effects of Hurricane Maria.
•...more
10/24/2017
/ Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Disaster Aid ,
Hurricane Maria ,
Jones Act ,
Maritime Transport ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Puerto Rico ,
Reconstruction ,
Vessels ,
Waivers
Cybersecurity risks to the nation's critical infrastructure (CI) – defined as 17 CI sectors, including the transportation and maritime sector – continue to grow exponentially. The U.S. government and Department of Homeland...more
In January 2017, Holland & Knight Transportation & Infrastructure lawyers and senior advisors prepared 20 posts for the 20 days leading to President Donald Trump's inauguration regarding what to expect from the Trump...more
5/2/2017
/ Antitrust Investigations ,
Coal ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) ,
FMCSA ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infrastructure ,
Maritime Transport ,
Mexico ,
Motor Carriers ,
NAFTA ,
NHTSA ,
Railroads ,
Safety Standards ,
Transportation Industry ,
Trump Administration
Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), joined by Reps. John Duncan (R-Tenn.) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), recently introduced H.R. 1240, the Energizing American Maritime Act, described as a bill "to require a certain percentage of...more
3/21/2017
/ Buy America ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Crude Oil ,
Energy Sector ,
Exports ,
Jones Act ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
MARAD ,
Maritime Transport ,
Natural Gas Act ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Trump Administration ,
US Trade Policies
Once he assumes office on Jan. 20, 2017, President-Elect Donald Trump will be responsible for managing a mix of cargo preference, ship documentation, cabotage, and related rules and laws dating back to the First Congress,...more
The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) issued its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR) in FMC Docket 16-04 on Aug. 15, 2016. The FMC's July 2016 vote in favor of issuing the NPR advances a multiyear regulatory review....more
8/23/2016
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Common Carriers ,
Federal Maritime Commission ,
Maritime Transport ,
Navigable Waters ,
NPRM ,
Ocean Transportation System ,
Ports ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Service Agreements ,
Shipping ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Vessels
The U.S. Coast Guard issued a notice in the Federal Register on March 14, 2016, announcing the availability of, and seeking comments on, the Atlantic Coast Port Access Route Study (ACPARS) Final Report. The ACPARS was...more