5106 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 19, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

1See 46 U.S.C. 40502. 

2See, e.g., 46 CFR 530.8(a) (2016). 

3ANPRM: Service Contracts and NVOCC Service 

Arrangements, 81 FR 10198 (Feb. 29, 2016). 

responsibility to faithfully administer 

the Medicaid program. 

Dated: January 12, 2021. 

Seema Verma, 

Administrator, Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services. 

Dated: January 12, 2021. 

Alex M. Azar II, 

Secretary, Department of Health and Human 

Services. 

[FR Doc. 2021–01078 Filed 1–14–21; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4120–01–P 

FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION 

46 CFR Part 530 

[Docket No. 20–22] 

RIN 3072–AC84 

Service Contracts 

AGENCY: Federal Maritime Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Maritime 

Commission proposes to amend its 

service contract filing requirements to 

permit ocean common carriers to file 

original service contracts up to 30 days 

after the contract goes into effect. 

DATES: Submit comments on or before 

March 5, 2021. 

In compliance with the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA), the Commission is 

also seeking comment on revisions to an 

information collection. See the 

Paperwork Reduction Act section under 

Rulemaking Analyses and Notices 

below. Please submit all comments 

relating to the revised information 

collection requirements to the FMC and 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) at the address listed below under 

ADDRESSES on or before March 22, 2021. 

Comments to OMB are most useful if 

submitted within 30 days after 

publication. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, 

identified by Docket No. 20–22, by the 

following methods: 

• Email: secretary@fmc.gov. For 

comments, include in the subject line: 

‘‘Docket No. 20–22, Comments on 

Service Contract Rulemaking.’’ 

Comments should be attached to the 

email as a Microsoft Word or textsearchable PDF document. 

Comments regarding the proposed 

revisions to the relevant information 

collection should be submitted to the 

FMC through one of the preceding 

methods and a copy should also be sent 

to the Office of Information and 

Regulatory Affairs, Office of 

Management and Budget, Attention: 

Desk Officer for Federal Maritime 

Commission, 725 17th Street NW, 

Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: (202) 

395–5167; or by email: OIRA_

Submission@OMB.EOP.GOV. 

Instructions: For detailed instructions 

on submitting comments, including 

requesting confidential treatment of 

comments, and additional information 

on the rulemaking process, see the 

Public Participation heading of the 

Supplementary Information section of 

this document. Note that all comments 

received will be posted without change 

to the Commission’s website, unless the 

commenter has requested confidential 

treatment. 

Docket: For access to the docket to 

read background documents or 

comments received, go to the 

Commission’s Electronic Reading Room 

at: https://www2.fmc.gov/readingroom/ 

proceeding/20-22/. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Rachel E. Dickon, Secretary; Phone: 

(202) 523–5725; Email: secretary@

fmc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Executive Summary 

II. Background 

A. Service Contract Requirements 

B. 2016–2018 Rulemakings 

C. 2018 World Shipping Council Petition 

for Exemption 

D. 2020 Exemptions 

III. Proposed Changes 

A. Delayed Filing for Original Service 

Contracts 

1. Definition of ‘‘Effective Date’’ (§ 530.3) 

2. Service Contract Filing Requirements 

(§ 530.8) 

3. Service Contract Implementation 

Requirements (§ 530.14) 

B. Technical Amendments 

1. Definition of ‘‘Authorized Person’’ 

(§ 530.3) 

2. Exceptions and Exemptions (§ 530.13) 

IV. Public Participation 

V. Rulemaking Analyses and Notices 

I. Executive Summary 

The Shipping Act of 1984, as 

amended (46 U.S.C. 40101–41309) 

(Shipping Act or Act) permits ocean 

common carriers and shippers to enter 

into individual, confidential service 

contracts for the international 

transportation of cargo, and requires 

that these contracts be filed with the 

Federal Maritime Commission. Under 

the current regulations in 46 CFR part 

530, original service contracts must be 

filed on or before their effective date, 

while service contract amendments 

must be filed within 30 days after they 

go into effect. The disparate treatment of 

original service contracts versus 

amendments was the result of a 2016– 

2017 rulemaking in which the 

Commission determined to allow 

delayed filing for amendments while 

retaining the requirement that original 

service contracts be filed on or before 

their effective date. 

In response to the COVID–19 

pandemic and its impact on service 

contract negotiation and filing, the 

Commission recently granted a 

temporary exemption permitting 

original service contracts, like 

amendments, to be filed up to 30 days 

after their effective date. Based on the 

Commission’s experience during the 

exemption period and the perceived 

benefits of allowing delayed filing for 

original service contracts, the 

Commission has tentatively determined 

to make the status quo permanent. 

Accordingly, the Commission is 

proposing to revise its service contract 

regulations in part 530 to allow original 

service contracts, like amendments, to 

be filed up to 30 days after they go into 

effect. The Commission is also 

proposing several technical 

amendments to the service contract 

regulations. 

The Commission requests comments 

on these proposed amendments and any 

other amendments necessary to 

implement delayed filing for original 

service contracts. 

II. Background 

A. Service Contract Requirements 

The Shipping Act permits ocean 

common carriers and shippers to enter 

into individual, confidential service 

contracts for the international 

transportation of cargo, and requires 

that these contracts be filed with the 

Federal Maritime Commission.1 For 

many years, the Commission’s 

implementing regulations required that 

ocean common carriers file all service 

contracts and amendments with the 

Commission before the contract or 

amendment could go into effect.2

B. 2016–2018 Rulemakings 

In 2016, the Commission published 

an advanced notice of proposed 

rulemaking (ANPRM) to revise its 

regulations governing service contracts 

and non-vessel-operating common 

carrier (NVOCC) negotiated service 

arrangements (NSAs).3 The rulemaking 

was based on the Commission’s 

retrospective review of its regulations 

and feedback from the industry and 

shippers. One suggestion from ocean 

common carriers was to allow service 

contract amendments to go into effect 


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4 Id. at 10201. 

5 Id. 

6 Id. 

7NPRM: Amendments to Regulations Governing 

Service Contracts NVOCC Service Arrangements, 81 

FR 56559 (Aug. 22, 2016). 

8 Id. at 56562. 

9 Id. 

10 Id. 

11 Id. 

12 Id. 13Final Rule: Amendments to Regulations 

Governing Service Contracts NVOCC Service 

Arrangements, 82 FR 16288 (Apr. 4, 2017). 14 Id. at 16290. 

15 Id. 

16 Id. 

17 Id. at 16293. 

18 Id. 

19NPRM: Amendments to Regulations Governing 

NVOCC Negotiated Rate Arrangements and NVOCC 

Service Arrangements, 82 FR 56781 (Nov. 30, 2017). 

20 Id. at 56785. 

21 Id. 

22 Id. 

23See Pet. of World Shipping Council for an 

Exemption from Certain Provisions of the Shipping 

Act of 1984, as amended, for a Rulemaking 

Proceeding, 1 F.M.C.2d 504 (FMC 2019). 

24 Id. 

before filing with the Commission, 

provided that the amendment was filed 

within 30 days after the earlier of: (1) 

The date the parties agreed to the 

amendment; or (2) the date the carrier 

received cargo to which the amendment 

applied.4 Beneficial cargo owners and 

NVOCCs that provided feedback to the 

Commission, however, indicated that 

filing amendments prior to the 

acceptance of cargo protected rate and 

contract commitments, and these 

shippers were confident ocean common 

carriers would honor the rates and 

contract commitments knowing that the 

contracts were filed with the 

Commission.5 Notwithstanding these 

concerns, the Commission requested 

comment on the carriers’ proposal.6

The Commission subsequently 

published an NPRM in 2016 that 

proposed, among other things, to allow 

service contract amendments to be filed 

up to 30 days after the effective date.7

The Commission noted that the majority 

of commenters to the ANPRM supported 

the change and some advocated 

extending the same relief to the filing of 

original service contracts.8 Responding 

to the these comments, the Commission 

initially discussed how the existing 

requirements protected shipper interests 

by demonstrating agreement among the 

parties prior to the movement of cargo, 

and that shippers had expressed 

confidence in this process knowing that 

both the shipper and carrier would 

honor the commitment of their service 

contract filed with the Commission.9

The Commission moved on to 

distinguish original service contracts 

from service contract amendments, 

describing an original service contract 

as ‘‘a comprehensive agreement between 

the parties that encompasses the 

commodities that are to be shipped, the 

origins and destinations between which 

cargo is to move, the rates for the 

transportation of that cargo, as well as 

terms and conditions governing the 

transportation of goods for the 

shipper.’’ 10 The Commission described 

service contract amendments, on the 

other hand, as ‘‘more limited in scope, 

generally adding new commodities and/ 

or rates.’’ 11 The Commission therefore 

proposed to allow filing of service 

contract amendments up to 30 days after 

going into effect, but declined to 

propose extending the same treatment to 

original service contracts ‘‘given their 

nature and the Commission’s belief that 

doing so would diminish its oversight 

abilities.’’ 12

The Commission published a final 

rule in 2017 adopting, among other 

changes, the proposed change to permit 

filing of service contract amendments 

up to 30 days after the effective date.13

Carriers and shippers had asserted in 

their comments that the service contract 

effective date requirement was overly 

restrictive, particularly with respect to 

service contract amendments, and stated 

that the majority of amendments were 

for minor revisions to commercial 

terms, such as a revised rate or the 

addition of a new origin/destination or 

commodity.14 The Commission also 

cited carrier claims that, in certain 

instances, parties had agreed to amend 

a service contract, but the cargo was 

received before the carrier filed the 

amendment with the Commission, 

meaning that the rates and terms in the 

amendment could not be applied to the 

cargo under the Commission’s 

regulations.15 The Commission 

concluded that permitting delayed filing 

was warranted because: (1) It would 

reduce the filing burdens on the 

industry by allowing carriers to file 

multiple amendments made within a 

30-day period at the same time rather 

than on a piecemeal basis; (2) it would 

avoid the commercial harm associated 

with failing to timely file an amendment 

and allow the parties to apply the 

agreed rates and terms to the intended 

shipments; and (3) the Commission 

would maintain the ability to protect the 

shipping public.16

In discussing a related proposal that 

the service contract correction process 

be amended to permit carriers to submit 

inadvertently unfiled original service 

contracts and amendments to the 

Commission within 180 days, the 

Commission determined that ‘‘[i]n the 

case of original service contracts, 

shipper protections at the time of 

contracting and for the ensuing contract 

term are best assured by requiring that 

the agreement be contemporaneously 

filed as the best evidence of the actual 

agreement between the parties when 

first reached.’’ 17 The Commission 

expressed concern that delayed filing of 

service contracts could negatively affect 

its ability to investigate and enforce the 

Shipping Act because ‘‘[u]nlike those 

limited and modest revisions to 

accommodate industry needs for 

correction of contract amendments, 

failure to file the original contract may 

conceal the very existence of a 

contractual arrangement in a given trade 

lane or lanes, avoiding early detection of 

market-distorting practices by 

individual carriers.’’ 18

Following publication of the 2017 

service contract/NSA final rule, the 

Commission initiated a separate 

rulemaking in 2017 to address 

regulatory revisions proposed by the 

National Customs Brokers and 

Forwarders Association of America in a 

2015 petition.19 Although this 

rulemaking focused on NSAs and 

NVOCC Negotiated Rate Arrangements 

(NRAs), the Commission discussed the 

World Shipping Council’s (WSC) 

comments on the 2015 petition 

regarding the implementation of similar 

changes to the service contract 

requirements.20 The Commission noted 

that these comments predated the 2016– 

2017 service contract/NSA rulemaking, 

and with the publication of the final 

rule in that proceeding, the Commission 

had substantially met the WSC’s request 

for regulatory relief for ocean common 

carriers.21 The Commission stated that 

any further relief related to service 

contracts could be undertaken after the 

Commission had an opportunity to 

analyze the impact of the recent changes 

on carrier operations and shippers.22

C. 2018 World Shipping Council 

Petition for Exemption 

In 2018, the WSC petitioned the 

Commission for an exemption from the 

service contract filing and essential 

terms publication requirements.23 The 

Commission denied the request for 

exemption from the service contract 

filing requirements but granted the 

request for exemption from the essential 

terms publication requirements.24

Although the petition and subsequent 

Commission decision were focused on 

eliminating the service contract filing 

requirement entirely, delayed filing was 

discussed. For example, as part of the 

Commission’s analysis of the potential 

economic harm that could result from 


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25 Id. at 510 (citing ANPRM: Service Contracts 

and NVOCC Service Arrangements, 81 FR 10198, 

10201 (Feb. 29, 2016). 

26 Id. at 513. 

27 Id. at 514–515 (referring to Final Rule: 

Amendments to Regulations Governing NVOCC 

Negotiated Rate Arrangements and NVOCC Service 

Arrangements, 83 FR 34780 (July 23, 2018)). 

28 Id. at 515. 

29Temporary Exemption from Certain Service 

Contract Requirements, 2 F.M.C.2d 65 (FMC 2020). 

30 Id. at 65. 

31 Id. at 65–67. 

32Temporary Exemption from Certain Service 

Contract Requirements, Docket No. 20–06, 2020 

FMC LEXIS 206 (FMC Oct. 1, 2020). 

33Pet. of CMA CGM, S.A., Pet. No. P2–20, slip op. 

(Oct. 20, 2020). 

34 82 FR at 56785. 

35As discussed above, the Commission recently 

reaffirmed its commitment to retaining the service 

contract filing requirement in its decision to deny 

WSC’s exemption request. Pet. of World Shipping 

Council, 1 F.M.C.2d 504. 

eliminating the filing requirement, the 

Commission pointed to the shipper 

comments discussed in the 2016–2017 

service contract/NSA rulemaking 

indicating that the filing requirement 

encouraged ocean common carriers to 

adhere to contract terms and deterred 

them from introducing unreasonable 

terms into service contract boilerplate 

language.25 The Commission also stated 

that delayed filing for service contract 

amendments addressed a number of the 

issues raised by commenters.26 Finally, 

in response to WSC’s argument that 

maintaining the filing requirement 

would negatively impact the ability of 

NVOCCs to use the expedited contract 

acceptance and effective date provisions 

implemented by the Commission in the 

recent 2017–2018 NSA/NRA 

rulemaking, the Commission pointed 

out that WSC’s assertion was based on 

the premise that service contract filing 

delays the effectiveness of service 

contracts.27 The Commission noted that 

WSC had not alleged that such a delay 

existed nor had Commission experience 

shown such a delay, and in the absence 

of such a showing, the Commission did 

not believe that granting WSC’s petition 

was necessary to give full effect to the 

changes made in the 2018 NSA/NRA 

final rule.28

D. 2020 Exemptions 

The spread of coronavirus disease 

2019 (COVID–19) in 2020 had a 

significant effect on the global freight 

delivery system, including service 

contract negotiation and 

implementation.29 Many businesses 

began working remotely because of 

social distancing guidance and stay-athome orders.30 For some entities, this 

situation, combined with other COVID– 

19-related disruptions to commercial 

operations, made complying with 

service contract filing requirements 

difficult. 

To allow parties time to adapt to the 

increased pressures from COVID–19 and 

minimize disruptions to the contracting 

process, the Commission issued a 

temporary blanket exemption on April 

27, 2020, extending the filing 

flexibilities for service contract 

amendments to original service 

contracts.31 The exemption is 

conditioned on carriers continuing to 

file original service contracts, subject to 

the same delayed filing requirements as 

service contract amendments (i.e., 

original service contracts must be filed 

within 30 days after the effective date). 

The exemption was originally set to 

expire December 31, 2020, but the 

Commission recently extended it until 

June 1, 2021.32

On October 7, 2020, CMA CGM, S.A. 

and its corporate affiliates petitioned the 

Commission for an exemption from the 

service contract filing and tariff 

publishing requirements to mitigate the 

effects of a cyberattack on their 

information systems.33 While the 

carriers stated that they appreciated the 

flexibility afforded by the temporary 

exemption, they requested further 

exemption from the filing requirements 

with respect to original service contracts 

and amendments to permit them to be 

filed more than 30 days after they went 

into effect. The Commission granted the 

exemption on October 20, 2020, and the 

exemption expired on November 26, 

2020. 

III. Proposed Changes 

As discussed above, the Commission 

expressed concern during the 2016– 

2017 rulemaking about permitting 

original service contracts to be filed 

after their effective date, and decided to 

limit delayed filing to amendments. But 

the Commission did not permanently 

foreclose future changes to the service 

contract requirements, stating in the 

2017 NSA/NRA NPRM that further 

relief related to service contracts could 

be undertaken after the Commission had 

an opportunity to analyze the impact of 

the 2017 final rule on carriers and 

shippers.34 In line with this statement, 

the Commission has reexamined the 

issue of allowing delayed filing for 

original service contracts after 

considering both the agency’s 

experience over the last three years with 

delayed filing of amendments and the 

recent experience with delayed filing of 

original service contracts under the 

current temporary exemption. 

The Commission has tentatively 

concluded that permanently allowing 

delayed filing of original service 

contracts will provide the same type of 

benefits as delayed filing of service 

contract amendments, namely avoiding 

the commercial harm associated with 

situations in which cargo is received 

after the parties have agreed to a service 

contract but before the service contract 

is filed with the Commission. The need 

for this flexibility has been amply 

demonstrated by recent events, 

including the commercial disruption, 

social distancing, and stay-at-home 

orders stemming from COVID–19, 

which has impacted carriers’ ability to 

file service contracts and prompted the 

Commission to grant a temporary 

exemption. And in CMA CGM’s recent 

exemption petition in response to a 

cyberattack, the carrier cited with 

appreciation the flexibility afforded by 

the ability to file service contracts and 

amendments after their effective date. 

These recent events demonstrate that, in 

certain circumstances, requiring that 

service contracts be filed before they go 

into effect can potentially delay 

performance under the contract to the 

detriment of shippers. 

The Commission has also tentatively 

concluded that allowing original service 

contracts to be filed up to 30 days after 

the effective date will not materially 

impact the agency’s ability to provide 

oversight and protect the shipping 

public. Of particular importance, the 

Commission has not received any 

shipper complaints regarding delayed 

filing of amendments or the recent 

exemption allowing delayed filing of 

original service contracts. The 

Commission believes that the service 

contract filing requirement will 

continue to ensure adherence to service 

contract terms and deter the 

introduction of unreasonable terms, 

regardless of whether original service 

contracts are filed before, on, or after the 

effective date.35 And the proposed 

amendments make clear that original 

service contracts and amendments will 

continue to be prospective in nature, 

ensuring that the parties have reached 

agreement before cargo moves under the 

contract. 

Although the Commission continues 

to recognize that original service 

contracts are more comprehensive in 

scope than amendments, the 

Commission has tentatively concluded 

that this difference does not support 

different filing requirements. Under the 

proposed rule, the Commission would 

continue to monitor filed service 

contracts, and delayed filing would not 

negatively impact the Commission’s 

ability to investigate potential Shipping 

Act violations given the relatively short 


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36The Commission’s stated concerns in the 2017 

service contract/NSA final rule regarding the 

impact of delayed filing on enforcement were made 

in response to comments stating that the correction 

process should allow carriers to submit 

inadvertently unfiled service contracts with the 

Commission within a much longer period (180 

days). 

37Pet. of World Shipping Council, 1 F.M.C.2d at 

515–516. See Final Rule: Service Contracts, 85 FR 

38086 (June 25, 2020). 38 § 530.10(a)(1). 

39 § 530.8(a)(1), (2). 

40https://web.archive.org/web/20190321030253/ 

https://www.fmc.gov/resources/amended_service_

contract_nsas_rule.aspx (last visited Nov. 24, 2020). 

filing period being proposed (30 days 

after the effective date).36

Based on the foregoing, the 

Commission is proposing to revise its 

service contract regulations in part 530 

to allow original service contracts, like 

amendments, to be filed up to 30 days 

after the effective date. The proposed 

revisions are also intended to clarify 

that the trigger for the 30-day filing 

period is the effective date of the service 

contract or amendment. 

In addition, the Commission is 

proposing technical amendments to the 

service contract regulations following 

the Commission order and subsequent 

rulemaking to exempt ocean common 

carriers from the requirement to publish 

service contract essential terms.37 These 

amendments would: (1) Remove a 

reference to essential terms publication 

that was inadvertently retained; and (2) 

add language describing the exemption 

to ensure that ocean common carriers 

and other stakeholders that may not 

know the history of the matter are aware 

of the exemption. 

The Commission requests comments 

on these proposed amendments and any 

other amendments necessary to 

implement delayed filing for original 

service contracts. 

A. Delayed Filing for Original Service 

Contracts 

1. Definition of ‘‘Effective Date’’ 

(§ 530.3) 

The current definition of ‘‘Effective 

date’’ describes: (1) What an effective 

date is; (2) the relationship between the 

effective date and the filing date for both 

original service contracts and 

amendments (i.e., the effective date may 

not be before the filing date for original 

service contracts or more than 30 days 

prior to the filing date for amendments); 

and (3) the specific time on the effective 

date when an original service contract 

or amendment is effective (12:01 a.m. 

Eastern Standard Time). 

The Commission is proposing to 

amend the definition of ‘‘Effective date’’ 

by removing the language tying the 

effective date to the filing date. As 

described above, the Commission is 

proposing to extend delayed filing to 

original service contracts and is 

therefore deleting the sentence stating 

that the effective date for original 

service contracts cannot be prior to the 

filing date. The Commission is also 

proposing to delete the sentence stating 

that the effective date of an amendment 

can be no more than 30 days prior to the 

filing date. This sentence, in essence, 

simply repeats the filing requirement in 

§ 530.8(a)(2). As described below, 

§ 530.8(a), as amended by the proposed 

revisions, would adequately describe 

the filing requirement and the deadline 

for filing, and repeating the requirement 

in § 530.3(i) is therefore unnecessary. 

The Commission is also proposing to 

clarify the time on the effective date 

when a service contract or amendment 

goes into effect. Currently, § 530.3(i) 

provides that a service contract or 

amendment is effective at 12:01 a.m. 

Eastern Standard Time. The proposed 

revision would add the equivalent time 

zone relative to Coordinated Universal 

Time (UTC) for added clarity (i.e., UTC– 

05:00). 

Finally, the Commission is proposing 

to add language to the definition to 

clarify that although service contracts 

and amendments may be filed after the 

effective date, the Commission is 

retaining the requirement that service 

contracts and amendments must be 

prospective in nature and cannot have 

retroactive effect. Under the current 

regulations, service contract 

amendments may only have prospective 

effect.38 And, prior to the recent 

temporary exemption, original service 

contracts could not become effective 

prior to being filed with the 

Commission and were therefore also 

limited to having prospective effect. 

Because the Commission is proposing to 

allow original service contracts to be 

filed after they go into effect, the 

Commission is also adding language to 

the definition of ‘‘Effective date’’ to 

reflect the continuing requirement that 

service contracts and amendments may 

only have prospective effect. The added 

language specifies that the effective date 

cannot be earlier than the date on which 

all the parties have signed the service 

contract or amendment. 

2. Service Contract Filing Requirements 

(§ 530.8) 

Section 530.8 sets forth the filing 

requirements for service contracts and 

amendments. Under the current 

regulations, amendments must be filed 

no later than 30 days after cargo moves 

pursuant to the amendment, and, prior 

to the temporary exemption, original 

service contracts had to be filed before 

any cargo moved pursuant to the service 

contract.39 The Commission is 

proposing to allow a 30-day filing 

period for both original service contracts 

and amendments and is therefore 

combining § 530.8(a)(1) and (2) into a 

single provision at § 530.8(a). The 

revised § 530.8(a) would require that 

ocean common carriers file service 

contracts and amendments no later than 

30 days after the effective date. 

The trigger for the filing period under 

the proposed revisions thus differs from 

the current requirement for service 

contract amendments in § 530.8(a)(2). 

The current regulations include two 

trigger events. Current § 530.3(i) 

requires that the effective date for the 

amendment be no more than 30 days 

prior to the filing date, while current 

§ 530.8(a)(2) requires that an 

amendment be filed no later than 30 

days after cargo moves pursuant to the 

amendment. In accordance with 

§ 530.14(a), performance under an 

original service contract or amendment 

may not begin until the effective date, 

and therefore the effective date will 

always be earlier than the date cargo 

moves under the contract or 

amendment. Accordingly, in order to 

comply with both §§ 530.3(i) and 

530.8(a)(2), ocean common carriers must 

file service contract amendments no 

later than 30 days after the effective 

date. Based on this interpretation, the 

Commission published guidance on its 

website shortly after the 2017 final rule 

was issued to make clear that service 

contract amendments must be filed no 

later than 30 days after their effective 

date.40 The Commission is thus 

proposing a single trigger (effective date) 

for the 30-day filing period for both 

original service contract and 

amendments. This will make clear when 

service contracts must be filed and 

allow the Commission to readily assess 

compliance. 

The Commission is also proposing 

amendments to § 530.8(e) to reflect the 

30-day filing period for original service 

contracts. Section 530.8(e) currently 

provides that if the Commission’s 

service contract filing system is unable 

to receive filings for 24 hours or more, 

affected parties are not subject to the 

requirements in §§ 530.8(a) and 

530.14(a) that a service contract must be 

filed before cargo is shipped under the 

contract. This exception is conditioned 

on the affected service contracts being 

filed within 24 hours after the 

Commission filing system returns to 

service. 


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41See, e.g., 82 FR at 16290 (noting that because 

of the previous requirement that amendments had 

to filed before cargo could move under the terms 

of the amendment, ‘‘[c]arriers have cited instances 

in which the parties have agreed to amend the 

contract, however, due to unavoidable 

circumstances, the cargo was received before the 

carrier filed the amendment with the Commission’’ 

and ‘‘[i]n such cases, the amendment’s rates and 

terms may not be applied to that cargo pursuant to 

the Commission’s rules.’’). 

42Pet. of World Shipping Council, 1 F.M.C.2d at 

515–516. 

43See Final Rule: Service Contracts, 85 FR 38086 

(June 25, 2020). 

The proposed amendments to 

§§ 530.8(a) and 530.14(a) require 

corresponding changes to § 530.8(e). 

The proposed changes to § 530.8(e) 

would provide that if the Commission’s 

service contract filing system is down 

for 24 hours or more, any service 

contract or amendment that must be 

filed during that period (i.e., because the 

30-day filing period concludes while the 

system is down) will be considered 

timely filed so long as the contract or 

amendment is filed no later than 24 

hours after the Commission filing 

system returns to service. As explained 

below, the Commission is proposing to 

remove references to the filing date in 

§ 530.14(a), and therefore the proposed 

revisions to § 530.8(e) also delete the 

reference to § 530.14(a). 

3. Service Contract Implementation 

Requirements (§ 530.14) 

Section 530.14 provides that 

performance under a service contract or 

amendment may not begin until the 

effective date and conditions 

performance on compliance with the 

relevant filing requirements, i.e., 

performance under an original service 

contract may not begin until the 

contract is filed while performance 

under an amendment may begin on the 

effective date provided that the 

amendment is filed no later than 30 

days after the effective date. 

Given the proposed changes to 

§ 530.8(a) would prescribe the same 

filing period for original service 

contracts and amendments (30 days 

after the effective date), the Commission 

is proposing to replace the separate 

requirements for original service 

contracts and amendments in 

§ 530.14(a) with a single requirement 

that performance under either may not 

begin until the effective date. The 

Commission is also proposing to remove 

the language tying performance to the 

filing date as it simply repeats the filing 

requirement in § 530.8(a). As described 

above, § 530.8(a), as amended by the 

proposed revisions, would adequately 

describe the filing requirement and the 

deadline for filing, and repeating the 

requirement in § 530.14(a) is therefore 

unnecessary. 

The Commission is also proposing to 

add an additional sentence to 

§ 530.14(a) to clarify that original 

service contracts and amendments may 

apply only to cargo received by the 

carrier on or after the effective date. 

This is implied by the current language 

of §§ 530.8(a) (describing when a service 

contract or amendment must be filed in 

relation to when cargo moves under the 

contract) and 530.14(a) (prohibiting 

performance under a service contract or 

amendment until the effective date) and 

has been stated in previous 

rulemakings.41 Because the Commission 

is proposing to amend § 530.8(a) so that 

the filing period is tied to the effective 

date rather than the date cargo moves, 

the Commission is proposing to include 

language in § 530.14(a) clearly stating 

that service contracts and amendments 

may only apply to cargo received on or 

after the effective date. 

B. Technical Amendments 

In order to implement the 

Commission’s December 2019 decision 

to grant in part WSC’s petition and 

exempt ocean common carriers from the 

essential terms publication 

requirements,42 the Commission 

recently issued a final rule removing 

those requirements from part 530.43

Since then, the Commission has 

tentatively determined that additional 

minor technical amendments are 

warranted. 

1. Definition of ‘‘Authorized Person’’ 

(§ 530.3) 

The definition of ‘‘Authorized 

person’’ in § 530.3(c) includes a 

reference to publishing statements of 

essential terms. The definition also 

cross-references a nonexistent paragraph 

(§ 530.5(d)) when referring to the 

registration requirements for filing 

service contracts. The Commission is 

proposing to amend the definition by 

removing the reference to essential 

terms publication and including the 

correct citation for the registration 

requirements (§ 530.5(c)). 

2. Exceptions and Exemptions (§ 530.13) 

The Commission is proposing to add 

a new paragraph (e) to § 530.13 to reflect 

the exemption granted by the 

Commission from the essential terms 

publication requirements. Although the 

Commission recently eliminated the 

essential terms publication 

requirements in part 530, ocean 

common carriers that are not aware of 

the exemption may be confused as to 

whether the statutory requirement in 46 

U.S.C. 40502(d) continues to apply. 

Accordingly, the Commission has 

tentatively determined to include a new 

provision reflecting the exemption from 

section 40502(d). 

IV. Public Participation 

How do I prepare and submit 

comments? 

Your comments must be written and 

in English. To ensure that your 

comments are correctly filed in the 

docket, please include the docket 

number of this document in your 

comments. 

You may submit your comments via 

email to the email address listed above 

under ADDRESSES. Please include the 

docket number associated with this 

document and the subject matter in the 

subject line of the email. Comments 

should be attached to the email as a 

Microsoft Word or text-searchable PDF 

document. 

How do I submit confidential business 

information? 

The Commission will provide 

confidential treatment for identified 

confidential information to the extent 

allowed by law. If your comments 

contain confidential information, you 

must submit the following by email to 

the address listed above under 

ADDRESSES: 

• A transmittal letter requesting 

confidential treatment that identifies the 

specific information in the comments 

for which protection is sought and 

demonstrates that the information is a 

trade secret or other confidential 

research, development, or commercial 

information. 

• A confidential copy of your 

comments, consisting of the complete 

filing with a cover page marked 

‘‘Confidential-Restricted,’’ and the 

confidential material clearly marked on 

each page. 

• A public version of your comments 

with the confidential information 

excluded. The public version must state 

‘‘Public Version—confidential materials 

excluded’’ on the cover page and on 

each affected page, and must clearly 

indicate any information withheld. 

Will the Commission consider late 

comments? 

The Commission will consider all 

comments received before the close of 

business on the comment closing date 

indicated above under DATES. To the 

extent possible, we will also consider 

comments received after that date. 

How can I read comments submitted by 

other people? 

You may read the comments received 

by the Commission at the Commission’s 

Electronic Reading Room at the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 19, 2021 / Proposed Rules 5111 

addresses listed above under 

ADDRESSES. 

V. Rulemaking Analyses and Notices 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act 

(codified as amended at 5 U.S.C. 601– 

612) provides that whenever an agency 

is required to publish a notice of 

proposed rulemaking under the 

Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 

U.S.C. 553), the agency must prepare 

and make available for public comment 

an initial regulatory flexibility analysis 

(IRFA) describing the impact of the 

proposed rule on small entities, unless 

the head of the agency certifies that the 

rulemaking will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. 5 U.S.C. 603, 

605. Based on the analysis below, the 

Chairman of the Federal Maritime 

Commission certifies that this proposed 

rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The regulated 

business entities that would be 

impacted by the rule are ocean common 

carriers (i.e., vessel-operating common 

carriers). The Commission has 

determined that ocean common carriers 

generally do not qualify as small entities 

under the guidelines of the Small 

Business Administration (SBA). See 

FMC Policy and Procedures Regarding 

Proper Consideration of Small Entities 

in Rulemakings (Feb. 7, 2003), available 

at https://www.fmc.gov/wp-content/ 

uploads/2018/10/SBREFA_Guidelines_

2003.pdf. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

The Commission’s regulations 

categorically exclude certain 

rulemakings from any requirement to 

prepare an environmental assessment or 

an environmental impact statement 

because they do not increase or decrease 

air, water or noise pollution or the use 

of fossil fuels, recyclables, or energy. 46 

CFR 504.4. The proposed rule would 

allow ocean common carriers to file 

original service contracts up to 30 days 

after their effective date. This 

rulemaking thus falls within the 

categorical exclusion for actions related 

to the receipt of service contracts 

(§ 540.4(a)(5)). Therefore, no 

environmental assessment or 

environmental impact statement is 

required. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501–3521) (PRA) requires an 

agency to seek and receive approval 

from the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) before collecting 

information from the public. 44 U.S.C. 

3507. The agency must submit 

collections of information in proposed 

rules to OMB in conjunction with the 

publication of the notice of proposed 

rulemaking. 5 CFR 1320.11. 

The information collection 

requirements associated with the service 

contract filing requirements in part 530 

are currently authorized under OMB 

Control Number 3072–0065. In 

compliance with the PRA, the 

Commission has submitted the 

proposed revised information collection 

to the Office of Management and Budget 

and is requesting comment on the 

proposed revision. 

Title: 46 CFR part 530—Service 

Contracts and Related Form FMC–83. 

OMB Control Number: 3072–0065. 

Abstract: 46 U.S.C. 40502 and 46 CFR 

part 530 require ocean common carriers 

to file certain service contracts 

confidentially with the Commission. 

Current Action: The proposed rule 

would amend the service contract filing 

requirements and allow ocean common 

carriers to file original service contracts 

up to 30 days after the effective date. 

Currently, part 530 requires that ocean 

common carriers file original service 

contracts on or before the effective date, 

while amendments must be filed within 

30 days after the effective date. 

Type of Request: Revision of a 

previously approved collection. 

Needs and Uses: The Commission 

monitors service contract filings to 

ensure compliance with the Shipping 

Act of 1984. 

Frequency: Frequency of filings is 

determined by the ocean common 

carrier and its customers. When parties 

enter into a service contract or amend 

the contract, the service contract or 

amendment must be filed with the 

Commission. 

Type of Respondents: Ocean common 

carriers or their duly appointed agents 

are required to file service contracts and 

amendments with the Commission. 

Number of Annual Respondents: The 

Commission does not anticipate that the 

proposed revisions would affect the 

number of respondents. As a general 

matter, however, the number of 

respondents has decreased since the last 

revision to the information collection. 

The Commission estimates an annual 

respondent universe of 86 ocean 

common carriers. 

Estimated Time per Response: The 

Commission does not anticipate that the 

proposed revisions would affect the 

estimated time per response, which 

would continue to range from 0.0166 to 

1 person-hours for reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements contained 

in the regulations, and 0.1 person-hours 

for completing Form FMC–83. 

Total Annual Burden: The 

Commission does not anticipate that the 

proposed revisions would affect the 

number of service contracts filed or the 

burden associated with each filing and, 

therefore, would not affect the total 

annual burden. Due to the decrease in 

the number of respondents since the last 

revision, however, the Commission 

expects that the total annual burden will 

decrease. The Commission estimates the 

total person-hour burden at 30,448 

person-hours. 

Comments are invited on: 

• Whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

Commission, including whether the 

information will have practical utility; 

• Whether the Commission’s estimate 

for the burden of the information 

collection is accurate; 

• Ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; 

• Ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, including the use of 

automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Please submit any comments, 

identified by the docket number in the 

heading of this document, by the 

methods described in the ADDRESSES

section of this document. 

Executive Order 12988 (Civil Justice 

Reform) 

This proposed rule meets the 

applicable standards in E.O. 12988 

titled, ‘‘Civil Justice Reform,’’ to 

minimize litigation, eliminate 

ambiguity, and reduce burden. Section 

3(b) of E.O. 12988 requires agencies to 

make every reasonable effort to ensure 

that each new regulation: (1) Clearly 

specifies the preemptive effect; (2) 

clearly specifies the effect on existing 

Federal law or regulation; (3) provides 

a clear legal standard for affected 

conduct, while promoting simplification 

and burden reduction; (4) clearly 

specifies the retroactive effect, if any; (5) 

adequately defines key terms; and (6) 

addresses other important issues 

affecting clarity and general 

draftsmanship under any guidelines 

issued by the Attorney General. This 

document is consistent with that 

requirement. 

Regulation Identifier Number 

The Commission assigns a regulation 

identifier number (RIN) to each 

regulatory action listed in the Unified 

Agenda of Federal Regulatory and 

Deregulatory Actions (Unified Agenda). 


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5112 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 11 / Tuesday, January 19, 2021 / Proposed Rules 

The Regulatory Information Service 

Center publishes the Unified Agenda in 

April and October of each year. You 

may use the RIN contained in the 

heading at the beginning of this 

document to find this action in the 

Unified Agenda, available at http://

www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

eAgendaMain. 

List of Subjects in 46 CFR Part 530 

Freight, Maritime carriers, Report and 

recordkeeping requirements. 

For the reasons set forth above, the 

Federal Maritime Commission is 

proposing to amend 46 CFR part 530 as 

follows: 

PART 530–SERVICE CONTRACTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 530 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 553; 46 U.S.C. 305, 

40301–40306, 40501–40503, 41307. 

■ 2. Amend § 530.3 by revising 

paragraphs (c) and (i) to read as follows: 

§ 530.3 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

(c) Authorized person means a carrier 

or a duly appointed agent who is 

authorized to file service contracts on 

behalf of the carrier party to a service 

contract and is registered by the 

Commission to file under § 530.5(c) and 

appendix A to this part. 

* * * * * 

(i) Effective date means the date upon 

which a service contract or amendment 

is scheduled to go into effect by the 

parties to the contract. A service 

contract or amendment becomes 

effective at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard 

Time (Coordinated Universal Time 

(UTC)-05:00) on the effective date. The 

effective date may not be earlier than 

the date on which all parties have 

signed the service contract or 

amendment. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Amend § 530.8 by: 

■ a. Revising paragraph (a); 

■ b. Adding a subject heading to 

paragraph (b); and 

■ c. Revising paragraph (e). 

The revisions and addition read as 

follows: 

§ 530.8 Service Contracts. 

(a) Filing. Authorized persons shall 

file with BTA, in the manner set forth 

in appendix A of this part, a true and 

complete copy of every service contract 

and every amendment to a service 

contract no later than thirty (30) days 

after the effective date. 

(b) Required terms. * * * 

* * * * * 

(e) Exception in case of malfunction 

of Commission filing system. In the 

event that the Commission’s filing 

systems are not functioning and cannot 

receive service contract filings for 

twenty-four (24) continuous hours or 

more, an original service contract or 

amendment that must be filed during 

that period in accordance with 

paragraph (a) of this section will be 

considered timely filed so long as the 

service contract or amendment is filed 

no later than twenty-four (24) hours 

after the Commission’s filing systems 

return to service. 

■ 4. Amend § 530.13 by adding 

paragraph (e) to read as follows: 

§ 530.13 Exceptions and exemptions. 

* * * * * 

(e) Essential terms publication 

exemption. Ocean common carriers are 

exempt from the requirement in 46 

U.S.C. 40502(d) to publish and make 

available to the general public in tariff 

format a concise statement of certain 

essential terms when a service contract 

is filed with the Commission. 

■ 5. Amend § 530.14 by revising 

paragraph (a) to read as follows: 

§ 530.14 Implementation. 

(a) Generally. Performance under an 

original service contract or amendment 

may not begin until the effective date. 

An original service contract or 

amendment may apply only to cargo 

received on or after the effective date by 

the ocean common carrier or its agent, 

including originating carriers in the case 

of through transportation. 

* * * * * 

By the Commission. 

Rachel E. Dickon, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2020–29173 Filed 1–15–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Fish and Wildlife Service 

50 CFR Part 17 

[Docket No. FWS–HQ–IA–2021–0004; 

FF09A30000–212–FXIA16710900000] 

RIN 1018–BF60 

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife 

and Plants; Regulations Pertaining to 

the American Alligator (Alligator 

mississippiensis) 

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service (FWS or Service), are 

proposing to amend regulations 

concerning American alligators 

(Alligator mississippiensis) by revising 

provisions pertaining to interstate and 

foreign commerce. We are proposing 

these changes to increase clarity and 

eliminate unnecessary regulation while 

at the same time maintaining what is 

necessary and advisable for the 

conservation of this and other 

endangered or threatened crocodilian 

species under section 4(d) of the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973, as 

amended. 

DATES: You may comment on this 

proposed rule until March 22, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit written 

comments by one of the following 

methods: 

• Electronically Using the Federal 

eRulemaking Portal: http://

www.regulations.gov in Docket No. 

FWS–HQ–IA–2021–0004 (the docket 

number for this rulemaking). 

• U.S. Mail: Public Comments 

Processing, Attn: FWS–HQ–IA–2020– 

XXXX; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

Headquarters, MS: PRB (JAO/3W), 5275 

Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22041– 

3803. 

We will not accept email or faxes. 

Comments and materials we receive, as 

well as supporting documentation, will 

be available for public inspection on 

http://www.regulations.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Pamela Hall Scruggs, Chief, Division of 

Management Authority, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, 5275 Leesburg Pike, 

MS: IA, Falls Church, VA 22041–3803; 

telephone 703–358–2095 or email: 

managementauthority@fws.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The American alligator (Alligator 

mississippiensis) is an iconic U.S. 

animal with a history of both drastic 

decline and complete recovery. As a 

result of State and Federal cooperation, 

its recovery is one of the most 

prominent successes of the Nation’s 

endangered species program. 

The American alligator is a large, 

semi-aquatic, armored reptile that is 

related to crocodiles. Alligators can be 

distinguished from crocodiles by head 

shape and color. Adult alligators, which 

are almost black in color, have a broad, 

large, long head with visible upper teeth 

along the edge of the jaws. Crocodiles, 

which are brownish in color, have a 

narrower snout and have lower jaw 

teeth that are visible even when its 

mouth is shut. The American alligator 

has a large, slightly rounded body, 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS