104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2149

AN ACT

To reduce regulation, promote efficiencies, and enfor other purposes. eliminate the Federal Maritime Commission, and transportation system of the United States, to courage competition in the international ocean
104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2149

AN ACT

To reduce regulation, promote efficiencies, and encourage

competition in the international ocean transportation system of the United States, to eliminate the Federal Maritime Commission, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ocean Shipping Re3 form Act of 1995’’.

4 TITLE I—OCEAN SHIPPING

5 REFORM

6 SEC. 101. PURPOSES.

7 Section 2 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App.

8 U.S.C. 1701) is amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

10 (2);

11 (2) by striking the period at the end of para12 graph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

13 (3) by adding a new paragraph (4) to read as

14 follows:

15 ‘‘(4) to permit carriers and shippers to develop

16 transportation arrangements to meet their specific

17 needs.’’.

18 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.

19 Section 3 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App.

20 U.S.C. 1702) is amended—

21 (1) effective on January 1, 1997—

22 (A) by striking paragraph (9); and

23 (B) by redesignating the remaining para24 graphs accordingly;

25 (2) effective on June 1, 1997—

26 (A) by striking paragraph (4);
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1 (B) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘a com2 mon tariff;’’ and inserting ‘‘a common schedule

3 of transportation rates, charges, classifications,

4 rules, and practices;’’;

5 (C) by striking paragraph (10) (as redesig6 nated by paragraph (1) of this section);

7 (D) by striking paragraph (13) (as redesig8 nated by paragraph (1) of this section);

9 (E) by striking paragraph (16) (as redesig10 nated by paragraph (1) of this section);

11 (F) by amending paragraph (18) (as redes12 ignated by paragraph (1) of this section) to

13 read as follows:

14 ‘‘(18) ‘ocean freight forwarder’ means a person

15 that—

16 ‘‘(A)(i) in the United States, dispatches

17 shipments from the United States via a com18 mon carrier and books or otherwise arranges

19 space for those shipments on behalf of shippers;

20 and

21 ‘‘(ii) processes the documentation or per22 forms related activities incident to those ship23 ments; or

24 ‘‘(B) acts as a common carrier that does

25 not operate the vessels by which the ocean
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1 transportation is provided, and is a shipper in

2 its relationship with an ocean common car3 rier.’’;

4 (G) by striking paragraph (20) (as redesig5 nated by paragraph (1) of this section);

6 (H) in paragraph (22) (as redesignated by

7 paragraph (1) of this section)—

8 (i) by striking ‘‘or’’ the second time it

9 appears and inserting a comma; and

10 (ii) by striking the period and insert11 ing ‘‘, a shippers’ association, or an ocean

12 freight forwarder that accepts responsibil13 ity for payment of the ocean freight.’’;

14 (I) by amending paragraph (23) (as redes15 ignated by paragraph (1) of this section) to

16 read as follows:

17 ‘‘(23) ‘shippers’ association’ means a group of

18 shippers that consolidates or distributes freight, on

19 a nonprofit basis for the members of the group in

20 order to secure carload, truckload, or other volume

21 rates or ocean transportation contracts.’’; and

22 (J) by inserting after paragraph (18) the

23 following new paragraph:

24 ‘‘(19) ‘ocean transportation contract’ means a

25 contract in writing separate from the bill of lading
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1 or receipt between 1 or more common carriers or a

2 conference and 1 or more shippers to provide speci3 fied services under specified rates and conditions.’’.

4 SEC. 103. AGREEMENTS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE ACT.

5 Section 4(a) of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App.

6 U.S.C. 1703(a)) is amended, effective on June 1, 1997—

7 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘non-vessel8 operating common carriers’’ and inserting ‘‘ocean

9 freight forwarders’’; and

10 (2) by amending paragraph (7) to read as

11 follows:

12 ‘‘(7) discuss any matter related to ocean trans13 portation contracts, and enter ocean transportation

14 contracts and agreements related to those con15 tracts.’’.

16 SEC. 104. AGREEMENTS.

17 Section 5 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App.

18 U.S.C. 1704) is amended—

19 (1) effective on January 1, 1997—

20 (A) in subsection (b)(4), by striking ‘‘at

21 the request of any member, require an inde22 pendent neutral body to police fully’’ and in23 serting ‘‘state the provisions, if any, for the po24 licing of’’;
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1 (B) in subsection (b)(7), by striking ‘‘and’’

2 at the end;

3 (C) in subsection (b)(8), by striking the

4 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

5 (D) by adding at the end of subsection (b)

6 the following new paragraph:

7 ‘‘(9) provide that a member of the conference

8 may enter individual and independent negotiations

9 and may conclude individual and independent service

10 contracts under section 8 of this Act.’’;

11 (2) effective on June 1, 1997—

12 (A) by amending subsection (b)(8) to read

13 as follows:

14 ‘‘(8) provide that any member of the conference

15 may take independent action on any rate or service

16 item agreed upon by the conference for transpor17 tation provided under section 8(a) of this Act upon

18 not more than 3 business days’ notice to the con19 ference, and that the conference will provide the new

20 rate or service item for use by that member, effec21 tive no later than 3 business days after receipt of

22 that notice, and by any other member that notifies

23 the conference that it elects to adopt the independ24 ent rate or service item on or after its effective date,
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1 in lieu of the existing conference provision for that

2 rate or service item;’’; and

3 (B) by adding the following new paragraph

4 to read as follows:

5 ‘‘(10) prohibit the conference from—

6 ‘‘(A) prohibiting or restricting the mem7 bers of the conference from engaging in individ8 ual negotiations for ocean transportation con9 tracts under section 8(b) with 1 or more ship10 pers; and

11 ‘‘(B) issuing mandatory rules or require12 ments affecting ocean transportation contracts

13 that may be entered by 1 or more members of

14 the conference, except that a conference may

15 require that a member of the conference dis16 close the existence of an existing individual

17 ocean transportation contract or negotiations on

18 an ocean transportation contract, when the con19 ference enters negotiations on an ocean trans20 portation contract with the same shipper.’’;

21 (C) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘carrier

22 that are required to be set forth in a tariff,’’

23 and inserting ‘‘carrier,’’; and

24 (D) in subsection (b)(9), by striking ‘‘serv25 ice’’ and inserting ‘‘ocean transportation’’.
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1 SEC. 105. EXEMPTION FROM ANTITRUST LAWS.

2 Section 7 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App.

3 U.S.C. 1706) is amended—

4 (1) by amending subsection (a)(6) to read as

5 follows:

6 ‘‘(6) subject to section 20(e)(2) of this Act, any

7 agreement, modification, or cancellation, in effect be8 fore the effective date of this Act and any tariff,

9 rate, fare, charge, classification, rule, or regulation

10 explanatory thereof implementing that agreement,

11 modification, or cancellation.’’; and

12 (2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘agency’’

13 and inserting ‘‘agency, department,’’.

14 SEC. 106. COMMON AND CONTRACT CARRIAGE.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective on June 1, 1997—

16 (1) section 8a of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46

17 App. U.S.C. 1707a) is repealed; and

18 (2) section 8 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46

19 App. U.S.C. 1707) is amended to read as follows:

20 ‘‘SEC. 8. COMMON AND CONTRACT CARRIAGE.

21 ‘‘(a) COMMON CARRIAGE.—

22 ‘‘(1) A common carrier and a conference shall

23 make available a schedule of transportation rates

24 which shall include the rates, terms, and conditions

25 for transportation services not governed by an ocean

26 transportation contract, and shall provide the sched-
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1 ule of transportation rates, in writing, upon the re2 quest of any person. A common carrier and a con3 ference may assess a reasonable charge for comply4 ing with a request for a rate, term, and condition,

5 except that the charge may not exceed the cost of

6 providing the information requested.

7 ‘‘(2) A dispute between a common carrier or

8 conference and a person as to the applicability of the

9 rates, terms, and conditions for ocean transportation

10 services shall be decided in an appropriate State or

11 Federal court of competent jurisdiction, unless the

12 parties otherwise agree.

13 ‘‘(3) A claim concerning a rate for ocean trans14 portation services which involves false billing, false

15 classification, false weighing, false report of weight,

16 or false measurement shall be decided in an appro17 priate State or Federal court of competent jurisdic18 tion, unless the parties otherwise agree.

19 ‘‘(b) CONTRACT CARRIAGE.—

20 ‘‘(1) 1 or more common carriers or a conference

21 may enter into an ocean transportation contract

22 with 1 or more shippers. A common carrier may

23 enter into ocean transportation contracts without

24 limitations concerning the number of ocean trans25 portation contracts or the amount of cargo or space
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1 involved. The status of a common carrier as an

2 ocean common carrier is not affected by the number

3 or terms of ocean transportation contracts entered.

4 ‘‘(2) A party to an ocean transportation con5 tract entered under this section shall have no duty

6 in connection with services provided under the con7 tract other than the duties specified by the terms of

8 the contract.

9 ‘‘(3)(A) An ocean transportation contract or the

10 transportation provided under that contract may not

11 be challenged in any court on the grounds that the

12 contract violates a provision of this Act.

13 ‘‘(B) The exclusive remedy for an alleged

14 breach of an ocean transportation contract is an ac15 tion in an appropriate State or Federal court of

16 competent jurisdiction, unless the parties otherwise

17 agree.

18 ‘‘(4) The requirements and prohibitions con19 cerning contracting by conferences contained in sec20 tions 5(b)(9) and (10) of this Act shall also apply

21 to any agreement among one or more ocean common

22 carriers that is filed under section 5(a) of this Act.’’.

23 (b) CONFIDENTIALITY OF CONTRACTS.—Effective on

24 January 1, 1998, section 8(b) of the Shipping Act of 1984

25 (46 App. U.S.C. 1707(b)), as amended by subsection (a)
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1 of this section, is amended by adding at the end the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(5) A contract entered under this section may

4 be made on a confidential basis, upon agreement of

5 the parties. An ocean common carrier that is a

6 member of a conference agreement may not be pro7 hibited or restricted from agreeing with 1 or more

8 shippers that the parties to the contract will not dis9 close the rates, services, terms, or conditions of that

10 contract to any other member of the agreement, to

11 the conference, to any other carrier, shipper, con12 ference, or to any other third party.’’.

13 SEC. 107. PROHIBITED ACTS.

14 Section 10 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App.

15 U.S.C. 1709) is amended—

16 (1) effective on January 1, 1997, by amending

17 subsection (b)—

18 (A) by amending paragraph (1) to read as

19 follows:

20 ‘‘(1) except for service contracts, subject a per21 son, place, port, or shipper to unreasonable discrimi22 nation;’’; and

23 (B) by repealing paragraphs (2), (3), (4),

24 and (8);
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1 (2) effective on June 1, 1997, by amending

2 subsection (b) to read as follows:

3 ‘‘(b) COMMON CARRIERS.—No common carrier, ei4 ther alone or in conjunction with any other person, directly

5 or indirectly, may—

6 ‘‘(1) except for ocean transportation contracts,

7 subject a person, place, port, or shipper to unreason8 able discrimination;

9 ‘‘(2) retaliate against any shipper by refusing,

10 or threatening to refuse, cargo space accommoda11 tions when available, or resort to other unfair or un12 justly discriminatory methods because the shipper

13 has patronized another carrier or has filed a com14 plaint, or for any other reason;

15 ‘‘(3) employ any fighting ship;

16 ‘‘(4) subject any particular person, locality,

17 class, or type of shipper or description of traffic to

18 an unreasonable refusal to deal;

19 ‘‘(5) refuse to negotiate with a shippers’ asso20 ciation;

21 ‘‘(6) knowingly and willfully accept cargo from

22 or transport cargo for the account of an ocean

23 freight forwarder that does not have a bond, insur24 ance, or other surety as required by section 19;
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1 ‘‘(7) knowingly and willfully enter into an ocean

2 transportation contract with an ocean freight for3 warder or in which an ocean freight forwarder is

4 listed as an affiliate that does not have a bond, in5 surance, or other surety as required by section 19;

6 or

7 ‘‘(8)(A) knowingly disclose, offer, solicit, or re8 ceive any information concerning the nature, kind,

9 quantity, destination, consignee, or routing of any

10 property tendered or delivered to a common carrier

11 without the consent of the shipper or consignee if

12 that information—

13 ‘‘(i) may be used to the detriment or preju14 dice of the shipper or consignee;

15 ‘‘(ii) may improperly disclose its business

16 transaction to a competitor; or

17 ‘‘(iii) may be used to the detriment or prej18 udice of any common carrier;

19 except that nothing in paragraph (8) shall be con20 strued to prevent providing the information, in re21 sponse to legal process, to the United States, or to

22 an independent neutral body operating within the

23 scope of its authority to fulfill the policing obliga24 tions of the parties to an agreement effective under

25 this Act. Nor shall it be prohibited for any ocean
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1 common carrier that is a party to a conference

2 agreement approved under this Act, or any receiver,

3 trustee, lessee, agent, or employee of that carrier, or

4 any other person authorized by that carrier to re5 ceive information, to give information to the con6 ference or any person, firm, corporation, or agency

7 designated by the conference or to prevent the con8 ference or its designee from soliciting or receiving

9 information for the purpose of determining whether

10 a shipper or consignee has breached an agreement

11 with a conference or for the purpose of determining

12 whether a member of the conference has breached

13 the conference agreement or for the purpose of com14 piling statistics of cargo movement, but the use of

15 that information for any other purpose prohibited by

16 this Act or any other Act is prohibited; and

17 ‘‘(B) after December 31, 1997, the rates, serv18 ices, terms, and conditions of an ocean transpor19 tation contract may not be disclosed under this

20 paragraph if the contract has been made on a con21 fidential basis under section 8(b) of this Act.

22 The exclusive remedy for a disclosure under this para23 graph shall be an action for breach of contract as provided

24 in section 8(b)(3) of this Act.’’;

25 (3) effective on June 1, 1997—
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1 (A) by striking subsection (c)(1) and in2 serting the following:

3 ‘‘(1) boycott, take any concerted action re4 sulting in an unreasonable refusal to deal, or

5 implement a policy or practice that results in

6 an unreasonable refusal to deal;’’;

7 (B) in subsection (c)(5), by inserting ‘‘as

8 defined in section 3(14)(A) of this Act’’ after

9 ‘‘freight forwarder’’; and

10 (C) in subsection (c)(6), by striking ‘‘a

11 service contract.’’ and inserting ‘‘an ocean

12 transportation contract.’’; and

13 (4) effective on June 1, 1997, in subsection

14 (d)(3), by striking ‘‘(b) (11), (12), and (16)’’ and in15 serting ‘‘(b) (1), (4), and (8)’’.

16 SEC. 108. REPARATIONS.

17 Effective June 1, 1997, section 11(g) of the Shipping

18 Act of 1984 (46 App. U.S.C. 1710(g)) is amended—

19 (1) by inserting ‘‘or counter-complainant’’ after

20 ‘‘complainant’’ the second time it appears;

21 (2) by striking ‘‘10(b) (5) or (7)’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘10(b) (2) or (3)’’; and

23 (3) by striking the last sentence.
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1 SEC. 109. FOREIGN LAWS AND PRACTICES.

2 Section 10002 of the Foreign Shipping Practices Act

3 of 1988 (46 App. U.S.C. 1710a) is amended, effective on

4 June 1, 1997—

5 (1) in subsection (a)(1)—

6 (A) by striking ‘‘non-vessel-operating com7 mon carrier,’’; and

8 (B) by inserting ‘‘ocean freight forwarder,’’

9 after ‘‘ocean common carrier,’’;

10 (2) in subsection (a)(4), by striking ‘‘non-ves11 sel-operating common carrier operations,’’;

12 (3) in subsection (e)(1), by striking subpara13 graph (B) and all that follows through subparagraph

14 (D) and inserting the following:

15 ‘‘(B) suspension, in whole or in part, of the

16 right of an ocean common carrier to operate

17 under any agreement filed with the Secretary,

18 including agreements authorizing preferential

19 treatment at terminals, preferential terminal

20 leases, space chartering, or pooling of cargo or

21 revenues with other ocean common carriers; and

22 ‘‘(C) a fee, not to exceed $1,000,000 per

23 voyage.’’; and

24 (4) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘section

25 13(b)(5) of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App.

26 U.S.C. 1712(b)(5))’’ and inserting ‘‘section 13(b)(2)
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1 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App. U.S.C.

2 1712(b)(2))’’.

3 SEC. 110. PENALTIES.

4 Section 13 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App.

5 U.S.C. 1712) is amended, effective on June 1, 1997—

6 (1) in subsection (b)—

7 (A) by striking paragraphs (1) and (3) and

8 redesignating paragraphs (2), (4), (5), and (6)

9 in order as paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4);

10 (B) by striking paragraph (1), as so redes11 ignated, and inserting the following:

12 ‘‘(1) If the Secretary finds, after notice and an

13 opportunity for a hearing, that a common carrier

14 has failed to supply information ordered to be pro15 duced or compelled by subpoena under section 1711

16 of this Act, the Secretary may request that the Sec17 retary of the Treasury refuse or revoke any clear18 ance required for a vessel operated by that common

19 carrier. Upon request by the Secretary, the Sec20 retary of the Treasury shall, with respect to the ves21 sel concerned, refuse or revoke any clearance re22 quired by section 4197 of the Revised Statutes of

23 the United States (46 App. U.S.C. 91).’’; and

24 (C) in paragraph (3), as so redesignated,

25 by striking ‘‘finds appropriate,’’ and all that
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1 follows through the end of the paragraph and

2 inserting ‘‘finds appropriate including the impo3 sition of the penalties authorized under para4 graph (2).’’;

5 (2) in subsection (f)(1), by striking ‘‘section 10

6 (a)(1), (b)(1), or (b)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘section

7 10(a)(1)’’.

8 SEC. 111. REPORTS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 15 of the Shipping Act

10 of 1984 (46 App. U.S.C. 1714) is amended, effective on

11 January 1, 1997—

12 (1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘AND

13 CERTIFICATES’’;

14 (2) by striking ‘‘(a) REPORTS.—’’; and

15 (3) by striking subsection (b).’’.

16 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The Shipping Act of

17 1984 (46 App. U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is amended in the

18 first section in the table of contents by amending the item

19 relating to section 15 to read as follows:

‘‘Sec. 15. Reports.’’.

20 SEC. 112. REGULATIONS.

21 Section 17 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App.

22 U.S.C. 1716) is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘(a)’’; and

24 (2) by striking subsection (b).’’.
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1 SEC. 113. REPEAL.

2 Section 18 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App.

3 U.S.C. 1717) is repealed.

4 SEC. 114. OCEAN FREIGHT FORWARDERS.

5 Section 19 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App.

6 U.S.C. 1718) is amended, effective on June 1, 1997—

7 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the

8 following:

9 ‘‘(a) LICENSE.—No person in the United states may

10 act as an ocean freight forwarder unless that person holds

11 a license issued by the Commission. The Commission shall

12 issue a forwarder’s license to any person that the Commis13 sion determines to be qualified by experience and char14 acter to render forwarding services.’’;

15 (2) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), and

16 (d) as subsections (c), (d), and (e), respectively;

17 (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the follow18 ing:

19 ‘‘(b) FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.—

20 ‘‘(1) No person may act as an ocean freight for21 warder unless that person furnishes a bond, proof of

22 insurance, or other surety in a form and amount de23 termined by the Commission to insure financial re24 sponsibility that is issued by a surety company

25 found acceptable by the Secretary of the Treasury.
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1 ‘‘(2) A bond, insurance, or other surety ob2 tained pursuant to this section shall be available to

3 pay any judgment for damages against an ocean

4 freight forwarder arising from its transportation-re5 lated activities under this Act or order for reparation

6 issued pursuant to section 11 or 14 of this Act.

7 ‘‘(3) An ocean freight forwarder not domiciled

8 in the United States shall designate a resident agent

9 in the United States for receipt of service of judicial

10 and administrative process, including subpoenas.’’;

11 (4) in subsection (c), as redesignated by para12 graph (2) of this section, by striking ‘‘a bond in ac13 cordance with subsection (a)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘a

14 bond, proof of insurance, or other surety in accord15 ance with subsection (b)(1)’’; and

16 (5) in subsection (e), as redesignated by para17 graph (2) of this section—

18 (A) by striking paragraph (3) and redesig19 nating paragraph (4) as paragraph (3); and

20 (B) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(4) No conference or group of 2 or more ocean

22 common carriers in the foreign commerce of the

23 United States that is authorized to agree upon the

24 level of compensation paid to an ocean freight for-
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1 warder, as defined in section 3(18)(A) of this Act,

2 may—

3 ‘‘(A) deny to any member of the con4 ference or group the right, upon notice of not

5 more than 3 business days, to take independent

6 action on any level of compensation paid to an

7 ocean freight forwarder; or

8 ‘‘(B) agree to limit the payment of com9 pensation to an ocean freight forwarder, as de10 fined in section 3(18)(A) of this Act, to less

11 than 1.25 percent of the aggregate of all rates

12 and charges which are applicable under a com13 mon schedule of transportation rates provided

14 under section 8(a) of this Act, and which are

15 assessed against the cargo on which the for16 warding services are provided.’’.

17 SEC. 115. EFFECTS ON CERTAIN AGREEMENTS AND CON18 TRACTS.

19 Section 20(e) of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App.

20 U.S.C. 1719) is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(e) SAVINGS PROVISIONS.—

22 ‘‘(1) Each service contract entered into by a

23 shipper and an ocean common carrier or conference

24 before the date of the enactment of the Ocean Ship-
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1 ping Reform Act of 1995 may remain in full force

2 and effect according to its terms.

3 ‘‘(2) This Act and the amendments made by

4 this Act shall not affect any suit—

5 ‘‘(A) filed before the date of the enactment

6 of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1995;

7 ‘‘(B) with respect to claims arising out of

8 conduct engaged in before the date of the en9 actment of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of

10 1995, filed within 1 year after the date of the

11 enactment of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act

12 of 1995;

13 ‘‘(C) with respect to claims arising out of

14 conduct engaged in after the date of the enact15 ment of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of

16 1995 but before January 1, 1997, pertaining to

17 a violation of section 10(b) (1), (2), (3), (4), or

18 (8), as in effect before January 1, 1997, filed

19 by June 1, 1997;

20 ‘‘(D) with respect to claims pertaining to

21 the failure of a common carrier or conference to

22 file its tariffs or service contracts in accordance

23 with this Act in the period beginning January

24 1, 1997, and ending June 1, 1997, filed by De25 cember 31, 1997; or
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1 ‘‘(E) with respect to claims arising out of

2 conduct engaged in on or after the date of the

3 enactment of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act

4 of 1995 but before June 1, 1997, filed by De5 cember 31, 1997.’’.

6 SEC. 116. REPEAL.

7 Section 23 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App.

8 U.S.C. 1721) is repealed, effective on June 1, 1997.

9 SEC. 117. MARINE TERMINAL OPERATOR SCHEDULES.

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Shipping Act of 1984 (46

11 App. U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is amended, effective on June

12 1, 1997, by adding at the end the following new section:

13 ‘‘SEC. 24. MARINE TERMINAL OPERATOR SCHEDULES.

14 ‘‘A marine terminal operator shall make available to

15 the public a schedule of rates, regulations, and practices,

16 including limitations of liability, pertaining to receiving,

17 delivering, handling, or storing property at its marine ter18 minal. The schedule shall be enforceable as an implied

19 contract, without proof of actual knowledge of its provi20 sions, for any activity by the marine terminal operator

21 that is taken to—

22 ‘‘(1) efficiently transfer property between trans23 portation modes;

24 ‘‘(2) protect property from damage or loss;
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1 ‘‘(3) comply with any governmental require2 ment; or

3 ‘‘(4) store property in excess of the terms of

4 any other contract or agreement, if any, entered into

5 by the marine terminal operator.’’.

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The Shipping Act of

7 1984 (46 App. U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is amended in the

8 first section in the table of contents by adding at the end

9 the following new item:

‘‘Sec. 24. Marine terminal operator schedules.’’.

10 TITLE II—CONTROLLED

11 CARRIERS AMENDMENTS

12 SEC. 201. CONTROLLED CARRIERS.

13 Section 9 of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App.

14 U.S.C. 1708) is amended, effective on June 1, 1997—

15 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘in its tariffs

16 or service contracts filed with the Commission’’ and

17 ‘‘in those tariffs or service contracts’’ in the first

18 sentence, and by striking ‘‘filed by a controlled car19 rier’’ in the last sentence;

20 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘filed’’ and in21 serting ‘‘published’’, in paragraphs (1) and (2);

22 (3) in subsection (c), by striking the first sen23 tence;

24 (4) subsection (d) is amended to read as fol25 lows:
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1 ‘‘(d) Within 120 days of the receipt of information

2 requested by the Secretary under this section, the Sec3 retary shall determine whether the rates, charges, classi4 fications, rules, or regulations of a controlled carrier may

5 be unjust and unreasonable. If so, the Secretary shall

6 issue an order to the controlled carrier to show cause why

7 those rates, charges, classifications, rules, or regulations

8 should not be approved. Pending a determination, the Sec9 retary may suspend the rates, charges, classifications,

10 rules, or regulations at any time. No period of suspension

11 may be greater than 180 days. Whenever the Secretary

12 has suspended any rates, charges, classifications, rules, or

13 regulations under this subsection, the affected carrier may

14 publish and, after notification to the Secretary, assess new

15 rates, charges, classifications, rules, or regulations—ex16 cept that the Secretary may reject the new rates, charges,

17 classifications, rules, or regulations if the Secretary deter18 mines that they are unreasonable.’’;

19 (5) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘This’’ and in20 serting ‘‘Subject to subsection (g), this’’; and

21 (6) by adding at the end the following new sub22 sections:

23 ‘‘(g) The rate standards, information submissions,

24 remedies, reviews, and penalties in this section shall also

25 apply to ocean common carriers that are not controlled,
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1 but who have been determined by the Secretary to be

2 structurally or financially affiliated with nontransporta3 tion entities or organizations (government or private) in

4 such a way as to affect their pricing or marketplace behav5 ior in an unfair, predatory, or anticompetitive way that

6 disadvantages one or more ocean common carriers. The

7 Secretary may make such determinations upon request of

8 any person or upon the Secretary’s own motion, after con9 ducting an investigation and a public hearing.

10 ‘‘(h)(1) The Secretary shall issue regulations by June

11 1, 1997, that prescribe procedures and requirements gov12 erning the submission of price and other information nec13 essary to enable the Secretary to determine under sub14 section (g) whether prices charged by carriers are unfair,

15 predatory, or anticompetitive.

16 ‘‘(2)(A) If information provided to the Secretary

17 under this subsection does not result in a finding by the

18 Secretary of a violation of this section or enforcement ac19 tion by the Secretary, the information may not be made

20 public and shall be exempt from disclosure under section

21 552 of title 5, United States Code, except for purposes

22 of an administrative or judicial action or proceeding.

23 ‘‘(B) This paragraph does not prohibit disclosure to

24 either House of the Congress or to a duly authorized com25 mittee or subcommittee of the Congress.’’.
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1 SEC. 202. NEGOTIATING STRATEGY TO REDUCE GOVERN2 MENT OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL OF COM3 MON CARRIERS.

4 Not later than January 1, 1997, the Secretary of

5 Transportation shall develop, submit to Congress, and

6 begin implementing a negotiation strategy to persuade for7 eign governments to divest themselves of ownership and

8 control of ocean common carriers (as that term is defined

9 in section 3(18) of the Shipping Act of 1984 (46 App.

10 U.S.C. 1702).

11 SEC. 203. REPORT BY THE SECRETARY.

12 The Secretary shall report to the Congress by Janu13 ary 1, 1998, and annually thereafter, on—

14 (1) actions taken by the Secretary under the

15 Foreign Shipping Practices Act of 1988 (46 App.

16 U.S.C. 1710a) and section 9 of the Shipping Act of

17 1984 (46 U.S.C. App. 1708); and

18 (2) the effect on United States maritime em19 ployment of laws, rules, regulations, policies, or

20 practices of foreign governments, and any practices

21 of foreign carriers or other persons providing mari22 time or maritime-related services in a foreign coun23 try, that adversely affect the operations of United

24 States carriers in United States oceanborne trade.
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1 TITLE III—ELIMINATION OF THE

2 FEDERAL MARITIME COMMIS3 SION

4 SEC. 301. AGENCY TERMINATION.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—On September 30, 1997, the Fed6 eral Maritime Commission shall terminate and all remain7 ing functions, powers, and duties of the Federal Maritime

8 Commission shall be transferred to the Secretary of

9 Transportation.

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR FIS11 CAL YEAR 1997.—There is authorized to be appropriated

12 to the Federal Maritime Commission, $19,000,000 for fis13 cal year 1997.

14 TITLE IV—MISCELLANEOUS

15 PROVISIONS

16 SEC. 401. TRANSFER OF CERTAIN OBSOLETE TUGBOATS OF

17 THE NAVY.

18 (a) REQUIREMENT TO TRANSFER VESSELS.—The

19 Secretary of the Navy shall transfer the six obsolete tug20 boats of the Navy specified in subsection (b) to the North21 east Wisconsin Railroad Transportation Commission, an

22 instrumentality of the State of Wisconsin. Such transfers

23 shall be made as expeditiously as practicable upon comple24 tion of any necessary environmental compliance agree25 ments.
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1 (b) VESSELS COVERED.—The requirement in sub2 section (a) applies to the six decommissioned Cherokee

3 class tugboats, listed as of the date of the enactment of

4 this Act as being surplus to the Navy, that are designated

5 as ATF–105, ATF–110, ATF–149, ATF–158, ATF–159,

6 and ATF–160.

7 (c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may

8 require such terms and conditions in connection with the

9 transfers required by this section as the Secretary consid10 ers appropriate.

Passed the House of Representatives May 1, 1996.

Attest:

Clerk.