The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has announced a public hearing for supply chain stakeholders to discuss how shipping conditions in the Red Sea, such as ‘unjust’ and ‘extortionate’ carrier surcharges are impacting them.
The FMC said it would offer a chance to discuss how their operations have been disrupted by the attacks from Yemen, steps taken in response and the resulting effects.
The FMC’s topic example was “implementing contingency fees and surcharges” – the main source of stress for many shippers amid the crisis.
It said: “The commission recognises that the threat to commercial shipping imposes costs on the maritime transportation industry. The commission and its staff are closely monitoring rates, charges and rules that common carriers have implemented as a result.”
Lars Jensen, citing data from Sea Intelligence, noted that shipping surcharges had often exceeded the cost of rerouting around southern Africa, which led to the director of the Agricultural Transport Coalition, Peter Friedmann, calling the surcharges “a new profit centre”.
He also claimed some ocean carriers were taking advantage of the crisis in the Middle East and of US shippers. He said: “The FMC should develop a process by which it will require the carrier to submit the amount of the proposed surcharge and the additional costs that it seeks to cover. In that way, the commission can determine if the surcharge is reasonable.
”Those interested in the hearing can request to be considered as a participant, or share information and comments via a written submission to the FMC by 31 January. The hearing, and livestream, are scheduled for 7 February in Washington DC.
However, while the interests of US shippers will be represented, the move has highlighted that European shippers have no access to a similar regulating body, so Asia-Europe carriers can, essentially, impose surcharges without question or challenge.