The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) on Thursday adopted a final rule that eases certain publication requirements for ocean container carriers, providing partial relief sought by the World Shipping Council in a 2018 petition to the agency. The FMC’s approval of the rule follows a Feb. 14 notice of proposed rulemaking, in which the agency received two public comments.
The new rule amends the FMC’s regulations that govern service contracts by eliminating the requirement that ocean carriers publish “essential terms” for individual service contracts in a tariff format. The World Shipping Council said it is pleased with the finalized rule.
“Since the ‘me-too’ contract practice was eliminated by the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998, this requirement has been a functional dead letter,” John Butler, the council’s president and CEO, told…
