STB UPHOLDS GUAM GOVERNMENT’s RATE COMPLAINT AGAINST SEA-LAND, MATSON

STB UPHOLDS GUAM GOVERNMENTÆS RATE COMPLAINT AGAINST SEA-LAND, MATSON    The U.S. Surface Transportation Department has denied a motion filed by Sea-Land Service and Matson Navigation Co. to dismiss a rate complaint case filed against them by the government of Guam.
   The agency, however, did throw out Guam’s complaint against APL because the carrier no longer serves the trade.
   Before 1996, the STB shared regulatory jurisdiction on domestic all-water rate issues with the Federal Maritime Commission. The STB assumed complete oversight of these issues under the 1995 ICC Termination Act. The government of Guam filed its rate complaint against the carriers shortly after the Act was implemented.
   Sea-Land and Matson wanted the STB to dismiss the rate complaint because they said it challenges the overall revenues earned by their operations and not the specific rates of shippers. They said the complaint also challenged rates under the “zone of reasonable;” and it didn’t include motor carriers.
   The STB rejected each of these claims, stating that the government of Guam should “at least be offered a chance to present its case.”