Shipper complaints stack up at the Federal Maritime Commission

Shipper complaints continue to stack up at the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) with liners potentially on the hook for more than $75m from the latest two cases filed. 

Nielsen & Bainbridge, a home décor supplier from Texas, has filed a complaint against Ocean Network Express (ONE), OOCL, Evergreen and Yang Ming accusing them of systematically failing to meet service commitments, the use of coercion to require payment of extracontractual surcharges as well as amendments to service contracts, and what it terms as an “unreasonable” assessment of demurrage and detention charges. Nielsen & Bainbridge sought bankruptcy protection in 2023. 

Illinois-headquartered furniture retailer Euromarket Designs has filed a similar complaint targeting Mediterranean Shipping Company, ONE, Evergreen, HMM, Maersk, Cosco and Wan Hai among others

The FMC has been besieged with record numbers of shipper complaints during the period of liner shipping’s greatest era of profits. The commission’s powers were strengthened ago with the passing of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act in 2022.