Cargo shippers are urging the United States Congress to act immediately to update rules and the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) function, claiming that overcrowding, delays, rising fees, and a lack of infrastructure at U.S. seaports have caused unparalleled damage to the global shipping network.
This newest endeavor follows frequent complaints to the FMC by shippers alleging operators of unfair practices and high costs. While the FMC has raised worry about market circumstances, officials from shipping companies have immediately criticized these new recommendations.
The continuing maritime transport crisis has made a huge impact on U.S. exporters and importers, owing them billions in increasing shipping fees, demurrage and detention penalties, and financial losses, according to NITL, which released proposed revisions to the Shipping Act of 1984 addressed to the Congress.
The proposal is intended to give relief to international traders facing extraordinary shipping prices and an inability to get appropriate maritime transportation solutions to meet their cargo transport demands and issues about anticompetitive behavior.
The incapacity of exporters and importers to properly solve these business issues, according to NITL, indicates that the moment has arrived to revise the Shipping Act to meet modern situations. The lack of sufficient access to maritime technology and vessel itineraries has had a negative impact on the supply networks of U.S. corporations.