FMC fines MSC US$22.7 million in charges case

The United States Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) fined the shipowner MSC 22.67 million dollars after concluding a process that investigated violations of the American Navigation Act. The FMC clarified that the amounts relating to penalties must be transferred directly to the General Fund of the US Treasury.

According to the court decision, one of the transgressions occurred in 2018 and 2020, when the shipping company charged detention and demurrage fees to customs brokers, identified as “notified parties”, who were not involved in the movement of cargo. The FMC confirmed an administrative judge’s decision that the use of the so-called commercial clause constituted a practice contrary to articles of the United States Code and imposed a fine of 65 thousand dollars.

Fines were also imposed for violations related to the publication of tariffs. According to the investigation, from 2021 to early 2023, MSC failed to include in its published tariff a description of the fees applicable to non-operational refrigerated containers, which had their refrigeration units turned off. The Commission confirmed the violation and considered the conduct intentional until March 2022, when the company announced that it would modify its tariff. In this case, the penalties totaled $9.46 million.

Additionally, the FMC concluded that MSC incurred demurrage and detention surcharges associated with the use of NOR containers during 2021. The Commission reversed its initial decision, which attributed the charges to errors in the billing system, determined that approximately 23% of invoices issued that year included surcharges, constituting an abusive practice, and imposed a fine of five thousand dollars for each violation, totaling $13.145 million.