[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 222 (Monday, November 20, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55104-55105]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-25016]


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FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION

[Petition No. P4-16]


Petition of the Coalition for Fair Port Practices for Rulemaking; 
Notice of Public Hearing and Request for Comments

AGENCY: Federal Maritime Commission.

ACTION: Notice of hearing and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Commission has determined to hold hearings on January 16 
and 17, 2018, to receive oral testimony concerning the Petition of the 
Coalition for Fair Port Practices for Rulemaking.

DATES: Request for appearance and comments are due by December 8, 2017.

ADDRESSES: All requests to appear and comments should be addressed to: 
Rachel Dickon, Assistant Secretary, Federal Maritime Commission, 800 
North Capitol St. NW., Room 1046, Washington, DC 20573-0001, Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 7, 2016 the Coalition for Fair 
Port Practices petitioned the Federal Maritime Commission (Commission) 
pursuant to 46 CFR 502.51 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedure to initiate a rulemaking proceeding. Petitioner states the 
purpose of the rulemaking is for the Commission to adopt ``a rule that 
will interpret the Shipping Act of 1984 . . . specifically 46 U.S.C. 
41102(c)''. The petition and comments received are posted on the 
Commission's Web site at https://www.fmc.gov/p4-16/.
    The Commission will hold public hearings to explore further the 
issues surrounding P4-16, the Petition of the Coalition for Fair Port 
Practices and the related comments filed in this proceeding. The 
hearings will take place on January 16 and 17, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. in 
the Commission's Main Hearing Room, 800 North Capitol Street NW., 
Washington, DC. The hearing will be open for public observation.
    Any person wishing to participate and speak at the hearing must 
send a request to appear as a participant witness no later than 
December 8, 2017, and include the name, street address, email address, 
telephone number, and the name of your company or employer, if any, 
together with a summary of the intended testimony, not to exceed three 
pages. The Commission will extend invitations to selected interested 
witnesses to participate in the hearing and may invite others to 
participate.
    Copies of all written submissions will be posted to the 
Commission's Web site and will be available in the Commission's Office 
of the Secretary.
    The petition arose out of experiences of coalition members--
importers, exporters, drayage providers, freight forwarders, customs 
brokers, and third-party logistics providers--with port congestion that 
ultimately led to vessel ocean common carrier (VOCC) and marine 
terminal operator (MTO) assessments of detention, demurrage, and per 
diem charges. The petition lists events over the preceding five years 
that led to port congestion including Hurricane Sandy (2012), harsh 
winter (2013-2014), west coast labor agreement (2014-2015), cargo 
diversions from west coast to east coast (2015), winter storms (2014-
2015), port hiring practices protests--New York/New Jersey (June 2016), 
and the Hanjin bankruptcy (Fall 2016).
    On December 20, 2016, the Commission published a notice in the 
Federal Register asking interested persons to submit views or arguments 
in reply to the Petition. The Commission received 115 responses, 
including comments from Members of Congress, trade and shipper 
associations representing various interests, individual importers, 
exporters,

[[Page 55105]]

customs brokers, freight forwarders, logistics companies, trucking and 
drayage companies, VOCCs, port authorities, and MTOs.
    The many responses to the Petition illustrate the complexity of 
issues surrounding ocean container shipping and marine terminal 
operations.
    Given the importance of this issue, its complexity, and the public 
interest indicated by the number and quality of comments submitted in 
response to the Petition, the Commission will hold public hearings to 
further explore the issues raised by the Petition and address specific 
questions. Commentary and answers to these questions will be helpful to 
the Commission as it determines its next steps with regard to Petition 
P4-16.

    By the Commission.
Rachel E. Dickon,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-25016 Filed 11-17-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6731-AA-P