FMC denies Peavey Co.’s request for issuing section 15 orders

FMC denies Peavey Co.’s request for issuing section 15 orders    The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has denied a request by grain elevator operator Peavey Co. to order a handful of overseas companies to provide charter parties and fixture documentation for four vessels.
   The vessels, “Pacific Champ,” Athinoula,” “Ortrada,” and “Ince Express,” were named by the commission in a June 11, 2001 order to show cause in its investigation into exclusive tug franchises for 12 marine terminal operators on the Lower Mississippi.
   Peavey Co. claims it made significant efforts to obtain the information from the companies Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., China Ocean Shipping Co. (COSCO), Mykonos Shipping Co., Poseidon Schiffahrt, and Ahmet Bedri Ince Armatorluk Ve Nakliyat.
   Peavey Co., which operates its grain terminal at Paulina, La., claimed these documents would show the FMC has no regulatory authority over its operation under the 1984 Shipping Act. The FMC’s Bureau of Enforcement, however, alleges the four vessels foreign-flag bulk carriers operated under the Shipping Act’s “common carrier” status when serving the terminal.
   The agency’s Enforcement Bureau recommended that the commission deny Peavey Co.’s request, citing that the company had two years to obtain the documents and failed to use the subpoena power to obtain the documents. The deadline to acquire the documents was June 1, 2003. The commission denied Peavey’s request.
   The FMC has rarely used its so-called section 15 powers under the Shipping Act to order the release of information on behalf of litigants. The Bureau of Enforcement said section 15 orders should “not be used in the instant proceeding.”