22.10.13FMC Proposing New D&D Rules

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is proposing a new rule that seeks to bring more
, structure and punctuality to the demurrage and detention billing practices of vessel operating common carriers (VOCCs), non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCCs) and marine terminal operators (MTOs).

If this proposed rule is adopted, VOCCs, NVOCCs and MTOs will all be required to issue bills for demurrage or detention only to parties that they have a contractual relationship with, to be clear regarding the nature of the charges and issue invoices within 30 days after the charges stop accruing and provide 30 days to dispute the charges with clear information about how charges should be disputed.

Specifically, the Commission is proposing four actions in this notice of proposed rulemaking: 1) adopting the list of minimum information that common carriers must include in demurrage or detention invoices; 2)adding to the list referenced immediately above additional information that must be included in or with a demurrage or detention invoice; 3) further defining prohibited practices by clarifying which parties may be billed for demurrage or detention charges; and 4)establishing billing practices that billing parties must follow when invoicing for demurrage or detention charges.