FMC Announces August 3rd Meeting on NVOCC Service Arrangements
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has announced that it will be holding an open meeting on August 3, 2005 in Washington, DC to discuss non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC) service arrangements (NSAs).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
It is our understanding that at this meeting the FMC is likely to consider whether NVOCCs should be permitted to enter into NSAs with other NVOCCs, etc. in light of recent press reports that the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia has ruled that two NVOCCs that admitted to colluding to fix rates, Gosselin World Wide Moving and the Pasha Group, did not have antitrust immunity.
(In December 2004, the FMC issued a final rule that exempted NVOCCs from the tariff publication requirements of the Shipping Act of 1984 (Shipping Act), subject to certain conditions and limitations.
The limitations in the final rule include two that are controversial - that NVOCCs are precluded from entering into NSAs with other NVOCCs or with shippers' associations that have NVOCCs as members, and that two or more NVOCCs cannot offer joint NSAs unless they are corporate affiliates.
The FMC had indicated that its decision to impose these limitations was due to certain court decisions and pending litigation regarding antitrust immunity, and its concern that a court might interpret the Shipping Act as providing antitrust immunity to NSAs.
However, the FMC had also indicated that it would reconsider these issues at a later time. See ITT's Online Archives or 03/29/05 news, 05032915, for BP summary of FMC Commissioner Creel's discussion on the FMC's decision not to permit NVOCCs to enter into NSA with other NVOCCs, etc. due to judicial concerns.)
(See ITT's Online Archives or 12/23/04 news, 04122320 for BP summary on final rule, with links to multi-part summaries of proposed rule.)
FMC meeting notice available at http://www.fmc.gov/Federal%20Register%20Notice%20Aug-05.htm.