FMC proposes carrier data collection plan in compliance with OSRA

Dive Brief:

The Federal Maritime Commission is proposing a plan to collect ocean carrier data in compliance with new regulations in the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022, according to a statement from the agency on Tuesday.
The agency is seeking public comment on the “data collection initiative,” which would require carriers to provide import and export data, including tonnage and TEUs, on a monthly basis, according to the statement.
Interested parties will have 60 days to comment on the proposed changes, one of the latest updates from the FMC to comply with the new law passed in June.

Dive Insight:

The data collection initiative is one of several steps the FMC is taking to be in compliance with the newly enacted Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 signed by President Joe Biden in June. The agency had announced after the law’s passage that there would be no phase-in period for enforcement of new regulations.

In early July, the commission provided interim procedures to shippers for submitting charge complaints for any disputed charges or violations that fall under the shipping reform act. The FMC also announced that ocean carriers must comply with demurrage and detention billing practices, including addressing the content and accuracy of invoices.

In a bid to improve its enforcement power, late last month the agency established the Bureau of Enforcement, Investigations, and Compliance. The new bureau consolidates the FMC’s investigative and prosecution functions, and will include an increase in the number of investigators on staff, the agency said in a release.

“Our job is to implement [the Ocean Shipping Reform Act] and we are well along the way in doing so,” Maffei said in a statement. “Parties who are not compliant are inviting the scrutiny of the Commission and exposing themselves to the consequences for not following the law or acting in a manner inconsistent with the clear direction of Congress.”

The next compliance deadline the FMC must meet is to deliver a rulemaking by December on the unreasonable refusal by ocean carriers for vessel space accommodations when otherwise available, according to the agency. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment is expected to be published in the near future.