The San Pedro Bay Ports announced, beginning on November 1, 2021, the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles will begin assessing a surcharge to ocean carriers for import containers that dwell on marine terminals. Under the new policy, the ports will charge ocean carriers as follows.
Carriers have already started notifying the trade by sending letters to alert parties to be prepared for added charges. Importers and shippers have immediately denounced the added charges, as Retail Industry Leaders indicated, they are moving cargo out of the ports as fast as possible and that such fees passed on to shippers provide little incentive for carriers and terminal operators to address the issues which can prevent shippers from accessing their cargo. This includes the equipment dislocation caused by the challenges of returning empty containers and the availability of chassis.
The assessment of this new fee may be in violation of federal rules issued in May 2020, designed to resolve longstanding complaints about these types of fees, known as detention/demurrage, which is assessed for cargo containers exceeding allotted free time at a terminal. The Federal Maritime Commission is currently auditing nine top ocean carriers for compliance with the detention/demurrage fee rule and indicated it would take appropriate action if prohibited activities were uncovered.
Please find a link to the announcement here:
San Pedro Bay Ports Announce New Measure to Clear Cargo
Western Overseas will continue to monitor this situation and will provide updates as information becomes available. Please contact your Western Overseas representative with any questions.
