Container lines will no longer be required to file ‘essential terms’ of contracts with cargo owners with the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) under a rule formally adopted by the regulatory body, providing an exemption to the Shipping Act of 1984. The ruling took place following a World Shipping Council’s (WSC) petition finding that not publishing contractual details — such as port pairs, volume commitments, and the type of cargo — would not harm market competition. The new rule will be effective upon publication in the Federal Register. The FMC estimated that removing the essential-terms publication requirement would eliminate 41,048 man hours to process the data, generating nearly $2 million in savings per year.
