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Maher ’ s neighbor , Port Newark Container Terminal , also said in a recent customer notice that it will no longer collect Maersk ’ s import demurrage .
Demurrage — the excess time that a container sits at a terminal — has typically been treated as an expense a marine terminal charges an ocean carrier that ultimately gets passed through to the shipper or trucker . However , a marine terminal source who asked not to be identified told the Journal of Commerce that ocean carriers in general will charge their own demurrage on top of the marine terminal ’ s own demurrage .
Due to the new rules , more marine terminals are opting out of collecting those fees because they do not want to be exposed to lawsuits and complaints if the charges are shown to be in error , the source said . Marine terminals and ocean carriers can sometimes show different container availability dates , he added , further complicating per diem billing .
“ What ’ s at stake here is carriers ’ ability to charge liner demurrage ,” the source said . “ Some marine terminal operators are simply divorcing themselves from being the collections agent because of the exposure .”
Marine terminals were generally opposed to the rulemaking as limiting their leverage over shippers with excessive terminal demurrage charges . But the source said that the rulemaking may not bar a marine terminal from billing a shipper directly for demurrage , even though the two only have an “ implied contract .”
Truckers tracking per diem
Even though truckers should be less exposed to per diem billing under the FMC new rule , it ’ s still not something they can avoid entirely . In instances where a billed party wants to dispute a detention and demurrage invoice , the trucker ’ s records of failed attempts to deliver or retrieve a container from a marine terminal will be critical .
Ocean Network Express recently sent a notice to customers detailing what evidence it will need for a billing dispute involving the return of an empty container return .
It will require screenshots that show truckers could not make appointments , how many attempts they made to book appointments and screenshots of the terminal and rail ramps for the returns .
The enhanced record keeping for billing disputes comes as other ocean carriers look to limit what information they provide that can be used against them in subsequent disputes . According to several people familiar with the matter , a Europe-based ocean carrier recently sent a cease-and-desist letter barring a technology company from using screenshots of the carriers ’ websites and apps to track detention and demurrage billing .
The inability of the notify party to see detailed breakdown of charges is a “ total screw up .”
Other logistics providers are having to adjust to the new rules . In a customer notice , Mediterranean Shipping Co . said that because of the new per diem billing rules , it will list the consignee as the default billed party on import shipments , along with providing the freight and per diem charges .
The “ notify party ” on an import shipment — a forwarder , customs broker or similar intermediary — will only be provided with a notice that a shipment has arrived without any detailed breakdown of charges , also known as a “ freighted ” arrival notice .
The problem , a US-based forwarder told the Journal of Commerce , is that the notify party may sometimes pay the freight and other charges in advance for their customer to get a container released quickly . The inability of the notify party to see those charges is a “ total screw up ,” the forwarder said .
email : michael . angell @ spglobal . com
BCOs and truckers are often required to pay per diem charges for marine terminals to release containers . Moab Republic / Shutterstock . com www . joc . com July 1 , 2024 | Journal of Commerce 13