President Donald J. Trump designated Louis E. “Lou” Sola to serve as the Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC). The designation was made on January 20, 2025.

Chairman Sola has served as a Commissioner of the FMC since January 2019, and he succeeds Daniel B. Maffei as Chairman. The Chairman is the chief executive and administrative officer of the Commission.

“I am humbled by President Trump designating me Chairman and I am grateful for his confidence in my ability to lead the Federal Maritime Commission.  There are many ways the Commission contributes to the competitiveness of American businesses, access to foreign markets for U.S. vessels and companies, and economic growth for the Nation. We will continue that important work while looking for more instances where applying the authorities of the Commission helps U.S. companies and consumers,” said Chairman Sola.

Chairman Sola had a distinguished career as a soldier, entrepreneur, and public servant before he joined the Commission.  He served in the U.S. Army for 12 years, specializing in counterintelligence.  Following his military career, he worked in consulting before launching a company specializing in yacht and mega-yacht sales.  Prior to joining the Federal Maritime Commission, Chairman Sola served as a Commissioner on the Florida Board of Pilot Commissioners.

Chairman Sola was first nominated to serve on the Federal Maritime Commission by President Trump on November 15, 2018, and was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 2, 2019.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) increased the maximum penalties assessed for statutory violations effective January 15, 2025, as required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015. The increases are tied to the rate of inflation. Maximum penalties for knowing and willful violations of the Shipping Act increased to $74,943 from $73,045. Maximum penalties for violations that are not knowing and willful increased to $14,988 from $14,608.

One of the largest maximum penalties that the FMC can assess increased to $2,626,135 from $2,559,636 per voyage. This penalty is authorized by the Shipping Act under 46 U.S.C. § 42106 as follows.

“If the Federal Maritime Commission finds that conditions unfavorable to shipping in foreign trade as described in section 42101 of this title exist, the Commission may —

1. limit voyages to and from United States ports or the amount or type of cargo carried;
2. suspend, in whole or in part, tariffs and service contracts for carriage to or from United States ports, including a common carrier’s right to use tariffs of conferences and service contracts of agreements in United States trades of which it is a member for any period the Commission specifies;
3. suspend, in whole or in part, an ocean common carrier’s right to operate under any agreement filed with the Commission, including any agreement authorizing preferential treatment at terminals, preferential terminal leases, space chartering, or pooling of cargo or revenue with other ocean common carriers;
4. impose a fee not to exceed $1,000,000 per voyage; or
5. take any other action the Commission finds necessary and appropriate to adjust or meet any condition unfavorable to shipping in the foreign trade of the United States.”

The penalty fee of $1,000,000 shown in (4) is the amount provided in the original Shipping Act of 1984. This amount has been increased due to inflation adjustments many times and now stands at $2,626,135.

The FMC also increased the amounts of eight other penalties specified in the Shipping Act. The complete list of increased penalties was published in the Federal Register.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) received four new formal complaints in January 2025 alleging violations of the U.S. Shipping Act and FMC regulations.

Unreasonable Unlawful D&D – FMC Docket No. 25-01:  Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBB) filed a formal complaint against BAL Container Line Co., Limited, alleging that BAL violated the U.S. Shipping Act by exploiting price inflation in container shipping during the COVID-19 pandemic and unjustly and unreasonably exploiting shippers.

Specifically, BBB alleges that between 2021 and 2022, BAL charged BBB excessive demurrage and detention charges. BBB claims it was unreasonable for BAL to charge detention and demurrage fees when BBB was unable to pick up or return containers due to circumstances outside of BBB’s control, such as congestion at ports and shortages of equipment.

As a result of BAL’s actions, BBB alleges that it suffered at least $9.5 million in damages due to additional charges.

BBB requests the Commission order BAL to pay BBB reparations for damages and lost profits for the unlawful conduct, including interest, attorneys’ fees and costs, order BAL to cease and desist from the unlawful conduct, and provide any other further relief that the FMC deems appropriate.

OOCL, Yang Ming, MSC and Evergreen are facing similar complaints filed by BBB. BBB filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2023.

Unreasonable Cargo Practices and Unlawful D&D – FMC Docket No. 25-02:  Nielsen & Bainbridge LLC, a home décor supplier from Texas, filed a formal complaint against ONE, OOCL, Evergreen, Italia Marittima SPA, and Yang Ming alleging various violations of the U.S. Shipping Act.

Specifically, Nielsen & Bainbridge alleges that during 2020-2022 the carries consistently failed to meet their existing service contract commitments. As a result, Nielsen & Bainbridge was forced to buy space on the spot market at enormous expense. Nielsen & Bainbridge also alleges that the carriers coerced them to pay additional extracontractual surcharges, such as PSS. Lastly, Nielsen & Bainbridge alleges the carriers charged detention and demurrage fees when Nielsen & Bainbridge was unable to pick up or return containers due to circumstances outside of their control, such as congestion at ports and equipment shortages.

As a result of the carriers’ actions, Nielsen & Bainbridge alleges that it suffered at least $50 million in damages.

Nielsen & Bainbridge requests the Commission order the carriers to pay reparations, including interest, attorneys’ fees and costs, order the carriers to cease and desist from the unlawful conduct, and provide any other further relief that the FMC deems appropriate.

Unreasonable Cargo Practices and Unlawful D&D – FMC Docket No. 25-03:  EuroMarket Designs Inc., an international furniture and home décor retail store doing business as Crate & Barrel, filed a formal complaint against MSC, ONE, Evergreen, HMM, Maersk, CMA CGM, APEX Maritime Co. Inc., China United Transport, Inc., COSCO, Italia Marittima SpA, and Wan Hai Lines alleging various violations of the U.S. Shipping Act and FMC’s detention and demurrage regulations.

Specifically, EuroMarket alleges that during 2020-2022 the carries consistently failed to meet their existing service contract commitments. As a result, EuroMarket was forced to buy space on the spot market at enormous expense and pay extracontractual surcharges, such as PSS. Lastly, EuroMarket  alleges the carriers charged unlawful detention and demurrage fees due to circumstances outside of EuroMarket’s control, such as congestion at ports and shortages of equipment.

As a result of the carriers’ actions, EuroMarket alleges that it suffered at least $66.9 million in damages.

EuroMarket requests the Commission order the carriers to pay EuroMarket reparations, including interest, attorneys’ fees and costs, order the carriers to cease and desist from the unlawful conduct, and provide any other further relief that the FMC deems appropriate.

Service Contract Violations – FMC Docket No. 25-04:  China United Lines, Ltd., a China-based vessel-operating common carrier, filed a formal complaint against Amazon and Amazon’s NVOCC arm, Beijing Century Joyo Courier Service Co., alleging violations of the U.S. Shipping Act.

China United Lines alleges that in April 2022 it entered into a Service Contract with Amazon. Shortly thereafter Amazon terminated the contract. According to China United Lines, Amazon initially acknowledged that payment of $31,560,000 in liquidated damages was required under the Service Contract. Subsequently, Amazon refused to pay the liquidated damages. Reportedly, Amazon claimed that China United Lines was not entitled to the damages due to a confidentiality breach.

Due to Amazon’s actions, China United Lines alleges that it should be rewarded $96,419,259 in reparations. This amount represents the difference between the published tariff rates that Amazon would have paid to China United Lines for the shipments and the charges paid under the Service Contract.

China United Lines requests the Commission to order Amazon to pay China United Lines reparations for their unlawful conduct, along with attorney fees and costs, and to provide any other relief the Commission deems proper.

For more details visit the FMC’s online reading room. The FMC’s reading room provides access to FMC dockets, related documents, notices, and orders.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) issued a policy statement in Docket No. 24-29 making it clear that the FMC is an appropriate venue for class action litigation dealing with FMC-adminisered statutes.

The Commission stated, “[t]he availability of the class action mechanism will help create a more level playing field for private parties seeking protection from potentially unlawful conduct.”  Class actions benefit parties that might otherwise be hesitant to initiate legal actions at the FMC. Parties may be hesitant for fear of retaliation or because the amount of money in dispute may be less than the cost of litigation for an individual claimant.

With this new policy statement, the Commission is continuing its efforts to reduce barriers to access to parties seeking to redress potential Shipping Act violations. The Commission recently implemented a process for Charge Complaints, which provide individuals with a simplified and expedited way to challenge some invoices. The FMC reports that common carriers refunded or waived more than $3.5 million in fees through the Commission-administered Charge Complaint process since June 2022. The Commission also issued a policy statement in December 2021 regarding trade associations. The policy statement makes it clear that shippers’ associations and trade associations can file complaints on behalf of others alleging violations of the law. Additionally, the Commission added more staff to the Office of the Administrative Law Judges to ensure the timely adjudication of the record number of pending proceedings filed with the Commission in recent years.

The FMC’s other recent policy statements can be found here.

Several leading carriers serving the Transpacific container trades have recently updated their respective tariffs to include new General Rate Increases (GRIs) effective February 15, 2025, including CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag Lloyd, HMM Company Limited, Ocean Network Express (ONE), Yang Ming, and ZIM.  See table below for GRI amounts per 40ft container; GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula.  The February 15th GRIs will be the fourth GRI of 2025 for the East Asia/USA trade lane. 

NOTE 1:  CMA CGM GRIs will be USD 2000 per 40ft container for dry cargo, and USD 2000 per 40ft container for reefer cargo.  GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula. 

NOTE 2:  COSCO GRIs apply on all cargo moving under service contracts only.   

NOTE 3:  Evergreen GRIs will be USD 3000 per 40ft container for dry cargo, and USD 3000 per reefer container.  GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula. 

Some carriers also updated their tariffs to include new General Rate Increases (GRIs) effective March 1, 2025, including CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, Hapag Lloyd, HMM Company Limited, Ocean Network Express (ONE), Yang Ming, and ZIM.  See table below for GRI amounts per 40ft container; GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula.  The March 1st GRIs will be the fifth GRI of 2025 for the East Asia/USA trade lane. 

NOTE 1:  CMA CGM GRIs will be USD 2000 per 40ft container for dry cargo, and USD 2000 per 40ft container for reefer cargo.  GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula. 

NOTE 2:  COSCO GRIs apply on all cargo moving under service contracts only.   

NOTE 3:  Evergreen GRIs will be USD 3000 per 40ft container for dry cargo, and USD 3000 per reefer container.  GRI amounts for all other container sizes are as per formula. 

Each carrier maintains its own tariffs and controls its own pricing.

The information contained herein is obtained from reliable sources. It is subject to change at any time, however, depending on changes in laws and regulations. While we continually attempt to monitor this information, we do not guarantee its accuracy and are not responsible for any damages suffered by any party in reliance on it.