NITL and its fellow members of the Coalition for Fair Port Practices are petitioning the Federal Maritime Commission to be allowed to testify before the FMC on what constitutes “just and reasonable rules and practices” with respect to the assessment of demurrage, detention, and per diem charges by ocean common carriers and marine terminal operators when ports are congested or otherwise inaccessible.
“The Coalition commends the Federal Maritime Commission for its decision to schedule public hearings on the Coalition’s Petition for Rulemaking concerning demurrage and detention practices of ocean carriers and marine terminals applied during periods of port congestion or other circumstances impacting the accessibility of our nation’s seaports,” the petition states. “The Coalition appreciates the opportunity to explain the concerns of importers, exporters, and drayage operators who are assessed demurrage and/or detention/per diem when cargo cannot be delivered or equipment cannot be returned due to port congestion or other circumstances that are beyond their control.”
The Coalition for Fair Port Practices filed a petition (Petition P4-16) with the FMC in December 2016 asking the agency to initiate a rulemaking proceeding on this matter. The FMC announced on November 16 that it would hold hearings on this issue on January 16-17.
