News
The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) voted today to move forward with proposed rules that would provide partial regulatory relief sought by a petition of ocean carriers, would implement regulatory changes mandated by recent legislation, and publish a direct final rule that would restructure how the agency oversees enforcement matters.
The Shipping Act requires vessel operating common carriers to publish concise statements of certain essential terms in tariff format when they file each service contract with the FMC. These essential terms include the origin and destination port ranges, the commodities involved, the minimum volume, and the service contract duration. The regulatory agency sought exemption from service contract filing requirements because the agency found it was unable to determine such an exemption would not be detrimental to commerce.
The exemption will become final 75 days from its publication in the Federal Register.
