OCEAN SHIPPING REFORM ACT OF 2022 READY FOR A SENATE VOTE
The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on 22 March approved the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA), paving the way for a formal vote in the Senate in the coming weeks. For reference, the OSRA of 2022 was introduced in the Senate in February by Senator Amy Klobuchar (Democrat, Minnesota) and is co-led by Senator John Thune (Republican, South Dakota), as well as co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 27 senators.
The bill would provide the Federal Maritime Commission with greater authority and rulemaking ability over certain practices by international ocean shipping companies, such as detention and demurrage fees and services offered to American exporters: ocean carriers would be forced to certify that late fees complied with federal regulation and the burden of proof on reasonable charging would be shifted to the carrier. The OSRA would also prohibit ocean carriers from “unreasonably declining shipping opportunities” for US exports and require them to report to the FMC on a quarterly basis total tonnage and TEU units for every vessel that makes port calls in the US.
The OSRA bill will now proceed to full Senate consideration. Negotiations will then start to find a compromise with the U.S. House of Representatives which passed similar legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support in December, before being sent to the US President, who has already endorsed the legislation.
Source: US Senate Committee on Commerce, Amy Klobuchar’s website