The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America is asking members to comment on Red Sea shipping experiences ahead of a Federal Maritime Commission meeting on Feb. 7 (see 2401120057). A Jan. 17 email sent by the NCBFAA asked members to share their experiences in the Red Sea and how diversions due to Houthi missile attacks have affected maritime shipping in the region. The association said it plans to compile the responses into an "industry-specific impact statement" that it plans to present at the FMC meeting.
The Federal Maritime Commission will host a public hearing Feb. 7 to look at how conditions in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are "impacting commercial shipping and global supply chains," the commission said Jan. 12. The FMC said the hearing will allow the shipping industry to share with the commission "how operations have been disrupted by attacks on commercial shipping emanating" from Houthi rebels in Yemen (see 2312200045).
The Federal Maritime Commission opened a proceeding against attorney Marcus Nussbaum pertaining to alleged professional misconduct, in which Nussbaum will have a chance to show cause why he should not be hit with a penalty or suspension of his ability to practice before the comission.
The Federal Maritime Commission on Jan. 11 approved a new surcharge on certain outbound shipments handled by Vanguard Logistics. The approval allows the California-based logistics firm to immediately begin charging the fees -- which the company is using to make up for added costs from trade disruptions around the Red Sea -- as opposed to giving 30 days' notice.
A Texas shipper accused major Chinese ocean carrier Cosco Shipping Lines of violating U.S. shipping regulations through unfair detention and demurrage charges, costing it nearly $2 million in damages. Visual Comfort & Co, a shipper of lighting products, said Cosco “refused” to extend free days for containers that couldn’t be returned to the port and declined to divert shipments to less crowded ports, allowing the carrier to charge “astronomical” D&D fees.
U.S. terminal operator SSA violated the Shipping Act by imposing “unjust and unreasonable” fees on Bal Container Line Co. Ltd., the Hong Kong carrier alleged in a complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission.
Easy Shipping Corp. of Calumet Park, Illinois, mishandled the shipment of four vehicles from Savannah to Al-Khums, Libya, causing exporting company USL Auto Exporting Inc. of Charlotte, North Carolina, to sustain at least $52,710 in damages, USL alleged in a complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) of Parsippany, New Jersey, has failed to compensate vehicle exporter D.F. Young Inc. (DFY) of Berwyn, Pennsylvania, for arranging the shipment of Ford and General Motors automobiles on WWL vessels, DFY alleged in a complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission this month.
CBP resumed operation of the Eagle Pass and El Paso, Texas, rail crossings at 2 p.m. EST on Dec. 22 after it temporarily suspended operations earlier this month to help the U.S. Border Patrol address an influx of migrants (see 2312180023).
Shippers of cargo from Asia to the U.S. East Coast could see shipments take five to 10 days longer as carriers avoid the Suez and Panama canals due to disruptions caused by conflict and drought, Nathan Strang of Flexport said Dec. 20.