Detention and Demurrage (D&D) has long been a point of contention between the ocean carriers and everyone else in the supply chain.
Last year, the US Congress passed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) and the California legislature passed AB2406. Both of these laws have the goal of putting reasonable boundaries on when ocean carriers and terminal operators can assess such charges.
Some ocean carriers, namely Maersk, Hyundai, MSC, and Hapag-Lloyd, have announced they will no longer assess D&D charges on days when the terminal is closed.
Even though the Federal Maritime Administration (FMC) ruled in a separate case that D&D charges could not be assessed when terminal gates were closed as such charges do not “incentivize” the movement of cargo, many ocean carriers are dragging their feet and are awaiting the FMC’s final rule making on the subject.
If you were unfairly assessed D&D charges, the FMC has developed a Charge Complaint process. The video above outlines how to file a Charge Complaint. It is a detailed, 20-minute video