Transport, Trade and Regulation News

The US maritime regulator said the ocean carrier did not simply have a contractual dispute with a shipper but instead clearly violated the US Shipping Act.

Maersk’s recent big order of dual-fuel ships — some of which will be powered by LNG — illustrates the quandary the carrier, and by extension container shipping, is currently in when it comes to achieving a zero-carbon future, writes Peter Tirschwell.

A range of supply chain mapping and risk management tools have emerged in the past decade, many aimed at customs brokers and third-party logistics providers.

A flood of duty-free shipments from Asia has upped the ante on brokers having broad knowledge of the upstream supply chains used by their importer clients.

After making significant investments in developing its methanol pathway over the past few years, and just a week after making a huge order for LNG-capable ships, the carrier is now looking into the feasibility of using nuclear energy in its vessels.

The future of shipping will consist of several different fuel technologies living side by side, with bunker fuels being part of the mix for “many years,” according to Vincent Clerc.

The intermodal logistics provider said it will change its business model as state and federal laws make it more difficult to classify drivers as independent contractors.

The container shipping lobby group believes higher costs levied on users of conventional bunkers is vital for the energy transition that requires multi-billion-dollar investments by fuel producers.

The $200 million funding round cuts against the broader trend of venture capital investors pulling back from early- and growth-stage supply chain and logistics startups.

Investment in technology to address the complex regulation is critical for cargo owners shipping to Europe, but it could have significant side effects to trade and consumer prices, experts warn.

The Federal Maritime Commission has set out the guidelines ocean carriers will need to follow to avoid claims from exporters that they are not being treated fairly.

There is growing pushback against the pending regulation that some sectors believe poses an impossible challenge in tracing and verifying the origins of certain products that could lead to their exclusion from the EU market.

A landmark ruling from the nation’s high court weakens the powers of federal maritime regulators ahead of imminent rulemaking that ocean carriers may challenge in the courts, writes Journal of Commerce Executive Editor Mark Szakonyi.

The US maritime regulator said the initial information the two carriers filed with the agency about the operational partnership “lacks sufficient detail to allow for a complete analysis of its potential competitive impacts.”

Maritime employers at the Port of Vancouver prevailed at a last minute federal hearing over a strike vote that longshore foremen took against DP World.

An appellate court ruled the US Federal Maritime Commission erred when it solely applied its “incentive principle” to a detention case involving container carrier Evergreen Line.

The Biden administration’s attempts to build a homegrown crane industry due to cybersecurity concerns drew little interest from the National Association of Waterfront Employers, which doesn’t see a threat from Chinese-made cranes.

US exporters face unexpected costs and delays due to changes in dates for dropping off containers, which the FMC hopes to address with more consistent data.

US importers are pulling forward orders to avoid potential congestion, but trucking and intermodal networks are still slack, speakers said at the launch of CSCMP’s State of Logistics report.

With supply chain volatility becoming “permanent,” more companies are taking control of previously outsourced parts of their supply chain, and even offering their own services, according to a closely watched annual report on the state of logistics.

The agency’s detention and demurrage rules are still unclear as to billing those charges to truckers, according to challenges put forth by ocean carriers.

The volume of complaints filed to the US maritime regulator against shipping lines and forwarders has surged since OSRA-22 became law.

To the extent carriers can’t pass those costs along, the industry faces the prospect of sharply higher costs for zero-carbon fuels and potentially further consolidation and reduction in choice for shippers.

The forwarder says it has been “conditionally” restored to CBP’s so-called Type 86 program and has filed a complaint against the agency to get reinstated without conditions.

The huge investment required to produce green fuels for the shipping industry needs to be underpinned by certainty over demand, which suppliers are not yet seeing, according to the European climate activist Transport & Environment.

Growth in the use of a low-value shipment rule has attracted critics, who say the de minimis program provides a loophole for e-commerce companies abroad to evade duties.

FMC investigators found the carrier “overbroadly defined and applied” the merchant clause in its bill of lading to a third party “who should not have been billed,” the agency said.

The IMO will introduce shipping’s new fuel standard in 2027 aimed at accelerating the industry’s decarbonization, but carriers need to work on improving fuel consumption now or risk missing short-term emissions goals.

The scale of the investment required by companies across the maritime value chain in the transition from fossil fuels to green energy will need to be underpinned by clear global regulations, according to shipping executives.

A legal battle over unpaid detention and demurrage bills between the forwarder and importer Giti Tire has now moved to US maritime regulators.

While the current US freight recession for trucking volumes is rather middling compared with recessions over the last five decades, the severity of the rate decline has been the sharpest and recovery isn’t likely until 2025, writes economist Jason Miller.

The customs pre-arrival security and safety program is being implemented in three steps, starting with ocean and inland waterway carriers in June.

During the tenure of the two members, the FMC has ramped up its oversight of the container shipping industry following widespread strains during the pandemic-era container surge.

A preliminary federal investigation found the use of a different breaker configuration than had been previously in use onboard the Dali that led to a series of power blackouts on its outbound voyage.

Two weeks before new rules around detention and demurrage billing go into effect, the US Federal Maritime Commission has told ocean carriers that contracts independent of a “through bill of lading” fall outside its jurisdiction.

Shippers will soon be able to retrieve cargo aboard the Dali, but they or their insurers will be expected to post sizable bonds to cover general average claims.

The exercise equipment maker alleged in a complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission that the forwarder failed to meet its obligations under a carrier haulage agreement.

Although electric trucks are improving, the electricity and charging networks needed to power them are not ready, Pitt Ohio’s Taki Darakos told a US House committee.

Biomethane and biomethanol-based fuels suitable for shipping and produced outside Europe may not receive automatic certification within the European Commission’s gaseous fuel database to be released in November.

The legislation adds advanced biofuels and e-fuels to a list of clean energy supported by the EU, which shipowners regard as a crucial step toward meeting the industry’s alternative fuel needs of the future.