U.S. Supreme Court reaffirms primacy of federal law on Outer Continental Shelf holding state law may not be adopted where federal law already addresses the issue.
In Parker Drilling Management Services Ltd. v. Newton, 587...more
6/17/2019
/ Appeals ,
Choice-of-Law ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Enclave Rules ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Offshore Drilling ,
On-Call Employees ,
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ,
Parker Drilling Management Services Ltd v Newton ,
Preemption ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
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 published a series of proposed rule changes covering licensing, financial responsibility requirements and general duties pertaining to ocean transportation intermediaries.
• The...more
• 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
• The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) issued Final Rules pertaining to Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) Service Agreements (NSAs) and Negotiated Rate Agreements (NRAs) that will become effective Aug. 22,...more
7/25/2018
/ Compliance Costs ,
Federal Maritime Commission ,
Filing Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
Negotiated Rate Agreements ,
NVOCCs ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Service Agreements ,
Shipping ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Tariffs ,
Vessels
Amid the Trump Administration's plan to reduce China's access to U.S. intellectual property, the federal government is imposing tighter scrutiny over U.S. universities' research partnerships with Chinese entities. The move is...more
6/29/2018
/ China ,
Colleges ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Huawei ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Joint Venture ,
National Security ,
Partnerships ,
Secretary of Defense ,
Secretary of Education ,
Technology Sector ,
Technology Transfer Agreements ,
Telecommunications ,
Trump Administration ,
Universities
El 6 de junio de 2018, la Comisión Federal Marítima de Estados Unidos (FMC por su sigla en inglés) aprobó en un voto un unánime (3-0) ciertos cambios que aliviarán las cargas regulatorias sobre intermediarios de transporte...more
On June 6, 2018, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) voted unanimously (3-0) to approve significant changes that will relieve regulatory burdens on Ocean Transportation Intermediaries (OTI) and simplify requirements for...more
• The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is soliciting public comment on ways to reduce regulatory costs and restrictions on the U.S. maritime industry.
• For maritime industry stakeholders,...more
5/29/2018
/ BOEM ,
CEQ ,
Coast Guard ,
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) ,
Comment Period ,
Cooperation ,
Customs and Border Protection ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Maritime Commission ,
MARAD ,
OIRA ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Request For Information ,
Shipping Cargo ,
Trump Administration
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
The U.S. Senate passed its version of a bill to overhaul the U.S. tax code on Dec. 2, 2017, and is now working with the House of Representatives to reconcile its bill with the House's version, passed in November. The goal 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
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke on Sept. 28, 2017, approved a waiver of the Jones Act in response to the severe impact Hurricanes Irma and Maria have had on Puerto Rico. The U.S. Department of Homeland...more
9/28/2017
/ Commodities ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Fuel Supply ,
Hurricane Irma ,
Hurricane Maria ,
Jones Act ,
Oil & Gas ,
Puerto Rico ,
Secretary of DHS ,
Vessels ,
Waivers
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Sept. 27, 2017, said that it has not formally denied a Jones Act waiver for Puerto Rico requested on Sept. 25 by Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) and seven other members of the...more
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke has issued an extension of the original Sept. 8 Jones Act waiver to Sept. 22. The extended waiver, dated Sept. 11, 2017, but only recently posted by the U.S. Department of...more
• A disruption of refinery operations and ocean shipping on the U.S. Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Harvey may spur oil industry requests for a waiver of the Jones Act to permit non-U.S. vessels to move crude oil and...more
• Sen. John McCain's proposed "Open America's Waters Act of 2017" is the Arizona Republican's fourth effort to eliminate or sharply pare back Jones Act cabotage restrictions in the past eight years.
• McCain's latest...more
• The Cruise Passenger Protection Act of 2017, a U.S. Senate bill introduced as S.1502 on June 29, 2017, proposes a broad range of notice, procedural and oversight provisions for the cruise line industry. The bill is designed...more
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