The US Congress has unveiled more ocean-shipping-focused legislation for “foreign” carriers. The Ocean Shipping Competition Enforcement Act was introduced by Democrat representative John Garamendi who said shipping is dominated by “nine foreign-flagged ocean liners that openly collude under three carrier alliances handling some 80% of cargo”. Current federal law requires the Federal Maritime Commission — which is an independent federal regulatory agency — to review proposed agreements between ocean carriers or marine terminal operators to ensure any such agreements are not unreasonably anticompetitive. The Act will allow the Federal Maritime Commission to block agreements among ocean carriers and marine terminal operators without obtaining a federal court order. World Shipping Council said the legislation is founded on the false premise that ocean carriers jointly set rates.
