The South Korean carrier said certain providers have been charging its customers more than what it would have charged to transport cargo and has tried to intervene, taking its concern up with the Federal Maritime Commission.
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) said it has received numerous
inquiries related to fees being charged by marine terminal operators (MTOs) to beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) to secure the release of shipments booked with Hanjin Shipping.
The FMC said it “understands the concerns the shipping public
has regarding the appropriateness and amounts of these fees. Any
allegations of unreasonable practices or violations of the Shipping Act
by MTOs will be examined carefully by the Commission.”
In advance of a hearing at bankruptcy court in Newark, N.J. Friday, Hanjin filed an update in which it said it had been informed that certain providers (e.g., railways, marine terminals and container lessors) have been charging the carrier’s customers more than what it would have charged to transport the shippers’ cargo.
Hanjin said it believes such price gouging is “wholly inappropriate” and has tried to intervene, including notifying the FMC, but said there was nothing more it could do.
At the hearing, Hanjin said it would not charge detention on containers if shippers are unable to return them immediately.
Hanjin said in its update with the court that it has advised customers to contact the owners of the containers to arrange for inland delivery and return.
In regards to Hanjin-owned containers, the carrier said it is finalizing a lease for property located near New York City for the return and storage of these containers. “Hanjin also is working diligently to find space on the West Coast for the return and storage of its containers,” the carrier added. “Moreover, Hanjin has been working with more than 70 marine terminals and off-dock container yards to arrange for return and storage of Hanjin-owned and Hanjin-leased containers.” Hanjin has been advised by over 40 terminals and yards that they are now at full capacity.
The carrier also said it “does not assert any interest in containers that it does not own or are the subject of a sale-lease-back agreement.” Hanjin also said it has not resolved issues relating to the sale-lease-back agreements.
Hanjin said it has made payments to 11 terminals and ports around the country before it filed for protection from creditors at the end of August, so that inland cargo, including cargo carried on the ships of other CKYHE Alliance members, could be retrieved by the BCOs without payment of any terminal charges that Hanjin otherwise would have had to pay to those terminals (and, thereby, attempting to offset such payments against monies due from the BCOs to Hanjin).
Hanjin said it has, or will, issue amended and rerated bills of lading and invoices to the BCOs to reflect charges only up to the port of discharge (a/k/a container yard or “CY”) for containers that were originally contracted to be delivered to the BCOs inland.
The 11 terminals and ports are: SSA’s Oakland International Container Terminal in Oakland, Calif.; the Pacific Container Terminal in Long Beach, Calif.; Yusen Terminal Inc., West Basin Container Terminal and the APM Terminal in Los Angeles; Maher Terminal in Elizabeth, N.J.; the Virginia International Terminal in Norfolk, Va.; the Olympic Container Terminal in Tacoma, Wash.; the Port of Houston Authority; the South Carolina Ports Authority; and the Massachusetts Port Authority.
The court agreed that an order on Sept. 9 setting up a protocol for BCOs to recover their cargo should apply to NVOCCs as well as all cargo expected to be discharged, not just from four ships identified earlier this month. Several additional ships began discharging Hanjin cargo this week.
In its report to the court this week, Hanjin attorneys said a report that a Korean Court ordered Hanjin to return chartered ships to their owners was inaccurate.
The attorneys said the company did make payments to bunker suppliers to the Hanjin Montevideo, which had been arrested in Long Beach.
It said Thursday it was in the process of trying to resolve other liens on the ship. On Friday afternoon, Kip Louttit, executive director of the Marine Exchange of Southern California, said the Hanjin Montevideo was scheduled to depart for Kwangyang, South Korea at 8:00 p.m. Friday.
Louttit said the Hanjin Jungil arrived yesterday at 5:00 p.m. and berthed at Total Terminals International in Long Beach to discharge containers.
Meanwhile, the Hanjin Miami was expected to leave the Port of New York and New Jersey Friday after discharging containers at the Maher Terminal in Elizabeth, N.J. Hanjin’s attorneys said it was then expected to sail to Wilmington, N.C. and Savannah, Ga.
The FMC said that during a closed door meeting this week, “the status of Hanjin Shipping and the disruptions caused by its bankruptcy to the American shipping community, as well as global supply chains, was examined closely by the Federal Maritime Commission.”
“Hanjin Shipping was one of the world’s largest container carriers and its market share serving the United States approached ten percent,” FMC Chairman Mario Cordero noted. “Their insolvency unquestionably has had an impact on the shipping public as we approach the height of peak season.”
Hanjin arranges for container return, while FMC examines fees charged by MTOs
