FMC RECEIVES $775,000 IN COMPROMISE AGREEMENTS

FMC RECEIVES $775,000 IN COMPROMISE AGREEMENTS    The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission has received $775,000 in civil penalties recovered from 10 compromise agreements with cargo vessel operators, ocean transportation intermediaries and liner members of a carrier credit agreement.
   Vessel operator Seafreight Line, based in Grand Cayman Islands, paid the FMC $50,000 for allegedly entering service contracts with ocean transportation intermediaries which were not compliant with the 1984 Shipping Act.
   Hecny Shipping Ltd. and Bright Fortune Shipping Ltd. paid a joint sum of $250,000 to the agency for allegedly illegally obtaining transportation of property at less that the applicable service contract rates and charges through a scheme by which Hecny Shipping allowed other NVOs, such as Bright Fortune, to access its service contracts. The companies were also alleged to have violated the Shipping Act’s tariff regulations.
   Other NVOs and freight forwarders that paid civil penalties for various alleged violations of the Shipping Act include:
   *Miami-based Ledi Corp. ($20,000)
   *Bangkok-based LEO Transport Corp. ($25,000)
   *Miami-based Lilly & Associates International ($70,000)
   *Pasadena, Texas-based Middle East Shipping Co. ($30,000)
   *El Segundo, Calif.-based Target Intermodal ($35,000)
   *Seattle-based Translink Shipping ($115,000)
   *St. Paul, Minn.-based TSC Container Freight ($75,000)
   The liner carrier members of the Water Transportation Credit Group, formerly an association of the New York Credit Group Service, paid a sum of $105,000 for alleged involvement in the exchange of credit information under an agreement required to be filed with the FMC, but not filed, in violation of the Shipping Act. The lines included APL, A.P. Moller-Maersk Sealand, China Shipping Container Lines Co., CMA CGM, Lykes Lines, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and P&O Nedlloyd.
   In concluding the above compromise agreements, the settling parties did not admit any violation of the shipping statutes.