AMERICAN PORTS SEEN LAGGING WHEN IT COMES TO PORT EFFICIENCY
The newest global Container Port Performance Index (CPPI) reveals that East and Southeast Asian ports excelled in 2023, accounting for 13 of the top 20 places. Key takeaways from the report include the fact that there are no American ports within the top 50 rankings, with Charleston top placed at 53. South Africa’s ongoing troubles to improve productivity at its ports was highlighted with two of the nation’s ports – Ngqura and Cape Town – ranking at the bottom of the index in 404th and 405th spot respectively with Durban also faring poorly in 398th spot. Martin Humphreys, lead transport economist at the World Bank, said container shipping continues to be an “unpredictable and volatile” sector. “Major ports need to invest in resilience, new technology, and green infrastructure to ensure the stability of global markets and the sustainability of the shipping industry,” Humphreys said.
MANDATORY REPORTING RULING FOR CONTAINERS LOST AT SEA
The World Shipping Council (WSC), the lobby group for liner shipping, has welcomed the recent adoption of amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) by the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 108). Starting January 1, 2026, these amendments will require mandatory reporting of all containers lost at sea. “The new regulations, specifically amending SOLAS Chapter V Regulations 31 and 32, mark a significant advancement in maritime safety and environmental protection. By ensuring prompt and detailed reporting of lost and drifting containers, these amendments will enhance navigational safety, facilitate swift response actions, and mitigate potential environmental hazards,” said Lars Kjaer, senior vice president for safety and security at the WSC. The new rules mean that the Master of a ship involved in the loss of containers must immediately and thoroughly report specific details to nearby ships, the nearest coastal state, and the flag state. Masters of ships that observe drifting containers must report it to nearby ships and the nearest coastal state.
A NEW DETENTION AND DEMURRAGE ALLOWS NVOCCS TO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL 30 CALENDAR DAYS
The Federal Maritime Commission’s revision to the detention and demurrage rule went into effect last week, and the new requirements for billing and timeframe of each step have raised some questions in the logistics industry. NVOCCs have an additional 30 calendar days in which to issue an invoice. This 30-day period runs from the date on which the invoice the NVOCC received was issued. In addition, the Commission recognizes the fact that an NVOCC can be both a billed party and a billing party with respect to the same transaction, and that in such a situation, the NVOCC may not be in a position to dispute an invoice with a VOCC until the NVOCC’s customer has disputed the invoice with the NVOCC. As such, the Commission has added § 541.7(c) to require that when an NVOCC informs a VOCC that its customer has disputed its invoice, the VOCC must then allow the NVOCC additional time to dispute the invoice it received from the VOCC.
US CUSTOMS TIGHTENS ENFORCEMENT ON LOW-VALUE E-COMMERCE TRADE U.S.
Customs and Border Protection has suspended several customs brokers from a program designed to speed entry for low-value shipments but has paved the way for an explosion of e-commerce imports from China and India that the agency is struggling to police. CBP didn’t spell out specifics in Friday’s suspension announcement but implied the intermediaries were penalized because filings for cargo release repeatedly failed to comply with requirements that the importer use “reasonable care” to properly classify and value goods, and for late filing of required data. Most of the shipments arrive in the U.S. on commercial aircraft and vessels, but some inventory is staged at warehouses in Canada and Mexico and moved to the U.S. via ground transportation when consumers place an order. To increase visibility and further expedite a border clearance process that relies on a carrier’s limited manifest data, CBP in 2019 initiated a test of a voluntary Entry Type 86 procedure for self-filers and brokers to electronically transmit shipment data through its trade processing platform. Freight forwarders and customs brokers can profit if they can process the entry type in high volumes. But they also assume greater risk because if a shipper or logistics company hires them to handle Type 86 entries, they have to declare themselves as the importer of record exercising reasonable care, as opposed to just a customs broker exercising responsible supervision and control.
New York trucking association files lawsuit over congestion tolls
The Trucking Association of New York (TANY) Thursday filed a lawsuit against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) over its soon-to-be-implemented congestion pricing framework in New York City, arguing the congestion pricing policy unfairly targets trucking and logistics companies, which are charged far higher rates than passenger Vehicles. Under the finalized plan, trucks would be subject to a charge of $24 or $36 per trip into the congestion zone below 60th Street in Manhattan, depending on their size, compared to just $15 per day for passenger vehicles.
LAST BRIDGE SECTION REMOVED CLEARING WAY FOR REOPENING BALTIMORE CHANNEL
The last large sections of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge have been removed from the channel in Baltimore clearing the path for the reopening of the full channel over this coming weekend. Normal navigation is expected to resume next week. The Army Corp of Engineers reported on Tuesday, June 4, that the last of three pieces of what they called Section 4, the parts of the bridge truss that had been resting on the Dali and the area around the ship, was lifted from the water. The first of the three sections, weighing 140 tons, was lifted on May 24 and the second section weighing 470 tons was lifted on June 1. The last phase of the operation will include dredging and a final inspection of the channel to ensure that there are no remaining hazards. Some of the teams working on the operation have already been reported to be packing their gear and leaving the site. No official timeline was released but reports are widely saying that the last work on the federal channel will be concluded between June 8 and 10. The channel is expected to officially be reopened to its 700-foot width by Monday, June 10 from the current 400-foot limited access channel. The Dali remains at the Seagirt Terminal although local media reports have shown images of ongoing work removing additional debris from the vessel. It is still expected that the vessel will be shifted in the coming weeks to a shipyard in the Norfolk, Virginia area. Baltimore officials are highlighting the work will have been completed in approximately 80 days. The focus is already shifting to the replacement efforts with Maryland’s Transportation Authority having issued a first request for proposals. The deadline is June 24 with media reports saying a contractor will be selected this summer, and the final design will be selected within the next year. The bridge is expected to be completed by the fall of 2028 at a cost of $1.7 billion.