The Commission: The Essential Blog on the FMC
OSRA 2022 Updates
We begin with a topic of interest for maritime industry
participants: the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA 2022)
(Pub. Law No. 117-146, 2022 Enacted S. 3580). Since OSRA 2022 was
passed on June 16, 2022, the process of disputing carrier and port
terminal accessorial charges, such as detention and demurrage
(D&D), has become more streamlined. (See Holland &
Knight's previous alert, "
Beyond the Ocean Shipping Reform Act: Recent FMC Decisions and
Settlement Implications," June 22, 2022).
During the Commission meeting on Sept. 21, 2023, FMC
staff
advised the Commissioners that "approximately $1.7
million in fees or surcharges have been voluntarily waived or
refunded by common carriers since July 2022 through the filing of
charge complaints." The FMC was instructed under OSRA 2022 to
address pandemic-related supply chain issues by simplifying the
process by which shippers, consignees, truckers
