FMC assesses $7.9 million penalty against Hong Kong NVO

FMC assesses $7.9 million penalty against Hong Kong NVO    U.S. Federal Maritime Commission Administrative Law Judge Michael Rosas has recommended a $7.9-million civil penalty against Hudson Shipping (Hong Kong) Ltd. for alleged violations of the 1984 Shipping Act.
   The agency’s investigators found Hudson Shipping violated the Shipping Act on 120 occasions during 1998 and 1999 by allowing other non-vessel-operating common carriers to access its service contracts with liner carriers Hyundai Merchant Marine Co. and DSR-Senator Lines. The other NVOs were able to obtain ocean transportation at less than the applicable rates.
   The FMC also found Hudson Shipping “willfully and knowingly” operated for 208 days, from September 2002 to March 2003, without a surety bond on file with the commission.
   In addition, the FMC ordered Hudson Shipping to “cease and desist” operations in the United States.
   The NVOs that gained unlawful access to Hudson Shipping’s service contracts, Transglobal Forwarding Co. and Green Master International Freight Services, were also penalized by the agency for alleged violations of the Shipping Act. The FMC assessed Transglobal a $1.44 million civil penalty, and Greenmaster a $1.53 million civil penalty.