43 containers charged USD 270,000 in demurrage, and an American shipper filed a complaint with FMC sofreight.com Yesterday
Jim
Sunny Worldwide Logistics
2021-09-17 10:58:52
It is reported that recently, a US shipper named Eucatex North America Inc filed a complaint with the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), claiming that CMA CGM and Fenix Marine Services charged excessive detention and demurrage fees for 43 containers. ).Fenix is the operator of the second largest container terminal (pier 300) in the Port of Los Angeles. Eucatex is a professional home floor and accessories company. In October 2020, it booked goods from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Long Beach, California through Blu logistics company and CMA CGM. The 43 containers were shipped under 4 separate bills of lading: the first bill of lading contained 13 containers; the second bill of lading contained another 13 containers; the third bill of lading contained 16 containers; the fourth bill of lading contained one container . To withdraw these 43 containers, Eucatex paid a total of US$271,015 in demurrage. The shipments arrived in Long Beach in January and early February this year. Each shipment has a container detained by the customs so that the authorities can check the contents of the cargo. This means that all containers under each bill of lading cannot be released before the customs releases the goods.
It took Fenix two to four weeks to transfer the first shipment to the customs at the Centralized Checkpoint (CES). In the process, the shipper’s free time was exhausted. However, Eucatex was unable to pick up the first shipment when it was released on February 5, so the pick-up time of the goods was postponed to February 10-12.Fenix assessed the demurrage for the first shipment of US$58,220, and Eucatex was forced to pay this fee before receiving the shipment. One container of the second shipment was also detained by the customs. It took Fenix 21 days to transfer the boxes to CES. The last free day was January 21, but the customs released the goods on February 12. Eucatex picked up the goods between February 15 and 17, and Fenix assessed the demurrage to be US$94065. The situation of the third shipment is similar. Eucatex has a seven-day free period and one container is waiting for customs inspection. This time Fenix failed to transfer the container within 25 days. The cargo arrived at the port on February 19th. Due to delays in transportation and customs inspection, the cargo was finally released on March 22nd. After paying $117,705 in demurrage, Eucatex picked up the goods on March 22 and 23. The fourth shipment is a box, and the situation is similar. The demurrage fee is $1,025.
The complaint stated: “When questioning the delay of shipping containers to CES, Eucatex was informed that there was a serious shortage of chassis vehicles at the port, which greatly delayed Fenix’s submission of the containers to customs for inspection.” In addition, the shipper stated: “Eucatex tried to discuss demurrage charges with Fenix and CMA CGM around March 2021, and both parties claimed that the other party was responsible for assessing Eucatex’s demurrage and free periods.” Eucatex also stated that it had wanted to obtain detailed invoices showing how demurrage was assessed, but neither FMS nor CMA CGM provided them. In addition, according to FMC's official website yesterday: FMC will publish a guide to complaint procedures and solicit opinions on demurrage.
The Federal Maritime Commission voted and approved two demurrage-related initiatives proposed by Commissioner Rebecca F. Dye. Unlike other temporary proposals, these proposals require formal approval from the committee. The first is to issue a policy statement on issues affecting the ability of shippers, truck drivers and others to obtain compensation for violations of the Shipping Law (including behaviors related to demurrage charges). The policy statement will provide guidance on the scope of the prohibition of carrier retaliation, when attorney fees can be imposed on non-victorious parties, and who can lodge a complaint with the committee for unreasonable behavior. In addition, FMC will issue an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) in due course, soliciting public comments on the following two issues: First, should the Commission require carriers and terminal operators to include certain minimum information related to demurrage; second, should the Commission require carriers and terminal operators to comply with certain demurrage settlement times? Convention.