The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has levied a fine against Wan Hai Lines of $950,000.
The FMC initiated proceeding against Wan Hai for the recovery of civil penalties for the alleged violations of 46 U.S.C. § 41102(c) of the Shipping Act of 1984.
The carrier is accused of “failing to establish, observe, and enforce just and reasonable regulations and practices relating to its assessment of charges on containers when return locations with corresponding appointments were unavailable”.
In the Spring of 2021, Wan Hai Lines charged a customer 21 times for detention charges, reported the FMC.
According to the FMC, these charges were levied by the shipping carrier despite the fact that Wan Hai Lines had either not provided any return locations, the specified terminal refused to take the containers, or appointments for the relevant containers were not available.
FMC has ordered Wan Hai Lines to refund the underlying parties for charges collected under the 21 invoices.
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In February 2023, the FMC called on Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) to justify a congestion surcharge levied against a US business.
