FMC CRACKS DOWN ON UNFAIR D&D FEES
At the end of December, the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) ordered the ocean carrier Evergreen to reimburse the D&D fees paid by the US trucking company TCW, as they were considered unlawful. This ruling could open the way for more cases to be brought.
Niklas Krigslund from ShippingWatch reported this week that Evergreen imposed per-diem charges on TCW due to a delayed return of a container and a chassis in the US port of Savannah. Even though the contractually set timeframe expired for both container and chassis, Evergreen imposed fees for three days during which the port was closed. The FMC in its ruling forbids the carrier from imposing per diem charges on days when a motor carrier has no ability to return equipment due to a port closure; and directs Evergreen and all marine lines to bill per diem charges directly to the BCO instead of the motor carrier.
Whereas the damages in question are not significant (around $500), the ruling can be seen as a major breakthrough as is stipulates that carriers are not to profit on fees imposed on suppliers and other collaborators when equipment is returned late. In another case filed to the FMC, Hapag-Lloyd already waived over more than $150,000 in demurrage fees for a Wisconsin-based forwarder. According to the FMC Interpretive Rule on D&D, the charges could be levied only where this will encourage the flow of cargo through ports and storage facilities. In this case, the FMC argues that daily charges for containers unavailable for pick-up or drop-off were unacceptable.
Source: ShippingWatch, The Loadstar