II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3580 

To amend title 46, United States Code, with respect to prohibited acts 

by ocean common carriers or marine terminal operators, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 3, 2022 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. THUNE, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. HOEVEN, Ms. 

STABENOW, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. PETERS, Mr. MORAN, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. KELLY, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Mr. BOOKER, 

and Ms. ERNST) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To amend title 46, United States Code, with respect to 

prohibited acts by ocean common carriers or marine terminal operators, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ocean Shipping Re5 form Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 Section 40101 of title 46, United States Code, is 

8 amended— 


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1 (1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(2) ensure an efficient, competitive, and eco4 nomical transportation system in the ocean com5 merce of the United States;’’; 

6 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and sup7 porting commerce’’ before ‘‘needs’’; and 

8 (3) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(4) promote the growth and development of 

11 United States exports.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. SERVICE CONTRACTS. 

13 Section 40502(c) of title 46, United States Code, is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (7) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and in16 serting a semicolon; 

17 (2) in paragraph (8) by striking the period and 

18 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(9) any other essential terms that the Federal 

21 Maritime Commission determines necessary or ap22 propriate.’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. SHIPPING EXCHANGE REGISTRY. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 405 of title 46, United 

3 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘§ 40504. Shipping exchange registry 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—No person may operate a ship7 ping exchange involving ocean transportation in the for8 eign commerce of the United States unless the shipping 

9 exchange is registered as a national shipping exchange 

10 under the terms and conditions provided in this section 

11 and the regulations issued pursuant to this section. 

12 ‘‘(b) REGISTRATION.—A person shall register a ship13 ping exchange by filing with the Federal Maritime Com14 mission (referred to in this section as the ‘Commission’) 

15 an application for registration in such form as the Com16 mission, by rule, may prescribe containing the rules of the 

17 exchange and such other information and documents as 

18 the Commission, by rule, may prescribe as necessary or 

19 appropriate in the public interest. 

20 ‘‘(c) EXEMPTION.—The Commission may exempt, 

21 conditionally or unconditionally, a shipping exchange from 

22 registration under this section if the Commission finds 

23 that the shipping exchange is subject to comparable, com24 prehensive supervision and regulation by the appropriate 

25 governmental authorities in a foreign country where the 

26 shipping exchange is headquartered. 


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1 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 3 years after 

2 the date of enactment of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act 

3 of 2022, the Commission shall issue regulations pursuant 

4 to subsection (a), which shall set standards necessary to 

5 carry out subtitle IV of this title for registered national 

6 shipping exchanges, including the minimum requirements 

7 for service contracts established under section 40502 of 

8 this title. 

9 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION OF SHIPPING EXCHANGE.—In this 

10 section, the term ‘shipping exchange’ means a service or 

11 platform for shippers to communicate freight traffic and 

12 capacity information to common carriers.’’. 

13 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The registration requirement 

14 under section 40504 of title 46, United States Code (as 

15 added by subsection (a)), shall take effect on the date on 

16 which the Federal Maritime Commission states the rule 

17 is effective in the regulations issued under such section. 

18 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap19 ter 405 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 

20 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘40504. Shipping exchange registry.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. PROHIBITION ON RETALIATION. 

22 Section 41102 of title 46, United States Code, is 

23 amended by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION ON RETALIATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A common carrier, marine 

2 terminal operator, or ocean transportation inter3 mediary, either alone or in conjunction with any 

4 other person, directly or indirectly, may not retaliate 

5 against a shipper, a motor carrier, or an agent of 

6 such a shipper or carrier by taking any action de7 scribed in paragraph (2) because the shipper or 

8 motor carrier has patronized another common car9 rier, marine terminal operator, or ocean transpor10 tation intermediary, or has filed a complaint, or for 

11 any other reason. 

12 ‘‘(2) ACTIONS.—The actions described in this 

13 paragraph are— 

14 ‘‘(A) refusing, or threatening to refuse, 

15 cargo space accommodations when available; or 

16 ‘‘(B) resorting to any other prohibited ac17 tions under section 41104(a)(3).’’. 

18 SEC. 6. PUBLIC DISCLOSURE. 

19 Section 46106 of title 46, United States Code, is 

20 amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC DISCLOSURES.—The Federal Maritime 

22 Commission shall publish, and annually update, on the 

23 website of the Commission— 

24 ‘‘(1) all findings by the Commission of false 

25 certifications by common carriers or marine terminal 


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1 operators under section 41104(a)(15) of this title; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(2) all penalties imposed or assessed against 

4 common carriers or marine terminal operators, as 

5 applicable, under sections 41107, 41108, and 41109, 

6 listed by each common carrier or marine terminal 

7 operator.’’. 

8 SEC. 7. COMMON CARRIERS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 41104 of title 46, United 

10 States Code, is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

13 by striking ‘‘may not’’ and inserting ‘‘shall 

14 not’’; 

15 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and insert16 ing the following: 

17 ‘‘(3) with due regard being given to the proper 

18 loading of the vessel and the available tonnage, 

19 refuse cargo space accommodations when available, 

20 or resort to other unfair or unjustly discriminatory 

21 methods;’’; 

22 (C) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘in the 

23 matter of rates or charges’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘against any commodity group or type of ship25 ment or in the matter of rates or charges’’; 


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1 (D) in paragraph (9), by inserting 

2 ‘‘against any commodity group or type of ship3 ment or in the matter of rates or charges’’ after 

4 ‘‘disadvantage’’; 

5 (E) in paragraph (10), by adding ‘‘, in6 cluding with respect to vessel space accommoda7 tions’’ after ‘‘negotiate’’; 

8 (F) in paragraph (12) by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

9 and inserting a semicolon; 

10 (G) in paragraph (13) by striking the pe11 riod and inserting a semicolon; and 

12 (H) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(14) assess any party for a charge that is in14 consistent or does not comply with all applicable pro15 visions of part 545 of title 46, Code of Federal Reg16 ulations (or successor regulations); or 

17 ‘‘(15) invoice any party for demurrage or deten18 tion charges, unless accompanied by an accurate cer19 tification that such charges comply with— 

20 ‘‘(A) all provisions of part 545 of title 46, 

21 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regu22 lations); and 

23 ‘‘(B) the findings of the final rule pub24 lished on May 18, 2020, entitled ‘Interpretive 


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1 Rule on Demurrage and Detention Under the 

2 Shipping Act’ (85 Fed. Reg. 29638).’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(d) VIOLATION OF PROHIBITION.—If the Commis5 sion determines, after an investigation in response to a 

6 submission under section 41310, that a certification under 

7 subsection (a)(15) was inaccurate or false, penalties under 

8 section 41107 shall be applied. 

9 ‘‘(e) CERTIFICATION.—Failure to include a certifi10 cation under subsection (a)(15) alongside any demurrage 

11 or detention charge shall eliminate any obligation of the 

12 charged party to pay the applicable charge.’’. 

13 (b) RULEMAKING ON DEMURRAGE OR DETENTION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Mari16 time Commission shall issue rulemaking further de17 fining prohibited practices by common carriers, ma18 rine terminal operators, shippers, and ocean trans19 portation intermediaries under section 41102(c) of 

20 title 46, United States Code, regarding the assess21 ment of demurrage or detention charges. 

22 (2) CONTENTS.—The rulemaking under para23 graph (1) shall seek to further clarify reasonable 

24 rules and practices related to the assessment of de25 tention and demurrage charges to address the issues 


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1 identified in the final rule published on May 18, 

2 2020, titled ‘‘Interpretive Rule on Demurrage and 

3 Detention Under the Shipping Act’’ (85 Fed. Reg. 

4 29638), including a determination of which parties 

5 may be appropriately billed for any demurrage, de6 tention, or other similar per container charges. 

7 (c) RULEMAKING ON UNFAIR OR UNJUSTLY DIS8 CRIMINATORY METHODS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Federal Maritime Com10 mission shall issue rulemaking defining unfair or unjustly 

11 discriminatory methods under section 41104(a)(3) of title 

12 46, as amended by this section. 

13 (d) RULEMAKING ON UNREASONABLY REFUSE TO

14 DEAL OR NEGOTIATE WITH RESPECT TO VESSEL SPACE

15 ACCOMMODATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act, the Federal Maritime Commis17 sion shall issue rulemaking defining unreasonable refusal 

18 to deal or negotiate with respect to vessel space under sec19 tion 41104(a)(10) of title 46, as amended by this section. 

20 SEC. 8. ASSESSMENT OF PENALTIES OR REFUNDS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title 46, United States Code, is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in section 41107— 

24 (A) in the section heading, by inserting 

25 ‘‘or refunds’’ after ‘‘penalties’’; 


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1 (B) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘or, in 

2 addition to or in lieu of a civil penalty, is liable 

3 for the refund of a charge’’ after ‘‘civil pen4 alty’’; and 

5 (C) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘or, in 

6 addition to or in lieu of a civil penalty, the re7 fund of a charge,’’ after ‘‘civil penalty’’; and 

8 (2) in section 41109— 

9 (A) in the section heading, by inserting 

10 ‘‘or refunds’’ after ‘‘penalties’’; 

11 (B) in subsection (a)— 

12 (i) by inserting ‘‘or, in addition to or 

13 in lieu of a civil penalty, order the refund 

14 of a charge’’ after ‘‘this part’’; and 

15 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or refund of such 

16 charge’’ after ‘‘conditions, a civil penalty’’; 

17 (C) by striking subsection (c); 

18 (D) by redesignating subsections (d) 

19 through (g) as subsections (c) through (f); 

20 (E) in subsection (d), as redesignated by 

21 subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘or order a re22 fund of a charge’’ after ‘‘civil penalty’’; 

23 (F) in subsection (e), as redesignated by 

24 subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘or who is orVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:50 Feb 05, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3580.IS S3580

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1 dered to refund a charge’’ after ‘‘civil penalty is 

2 assessed’’; and 

3 (G) in subsection (f), as redesignated by 

4 subparagraph (D)— 

5 (i) by inserting ‘‘or pay a refund of a 

6 charge’’ after ‘‘of a civil penalty’’; and 

7 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or the amount or8 dered to be refunded’’ after ‘‘amount as9 sessed’’. 

10 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The analysis for 

11 chapter 411 of title 46, United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) by striking the item relating to section 

13 41107 and inserting the following: 

‘‘41107. Monetary penalties or refunds.’’; 

14 and 

15 (2) by striking the item relating to section 

16 41109 and inserting the following: 

‘‘41109. Assessment of penalties or refunds.’’. 

17 SEC. 9. DATA COLLECTION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 411 of title 46, United 

19 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 41110. DATA COLLECTION. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Common carriers covered under 

23 this chapter shall submit to the Federal Maritime Com24 mission a calendar quarterly report that describes the 


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1 total import and export tonnage and the total loaded and 

2 empty 20-foot equivalent units per vessel (making port in 

3 the United States, including any territory or possession 

4 of the United States) operated by such common carrier. 

5 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION ON DUPLICATION.—Data required 

6 to be reported under subsection (a) may not duplicate in7 formation— 

8 ‘‘(1) submitted to the Corps of Engineers pur9 suant to section 11 of the Act entitled ‘An Act au10 thorizing the construction, repair, and preservation 

11 of certain public works on rivers and harbors, and 

12 for other purposes’, approved September 22, 1922 

13 (33 U.S.C. 555), by an ocean common carrier acting 

14 as a vessel operator; or 

15 ‘‘(2) submitted pursuant to section 481 of the 

16 Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1481) to Customs 

17 and Border Protection by merchandise importers.’’. 

18 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap19 ter 411 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 

20 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘41110. Data collection.’’. 

21 SEC. 10. CHARGE COMPLAINTS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 413 of title 46, United 

23 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘§ 41310. Charge complaints 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A person may submit to the 

3 Federal Maritime Commission, and the Commission shall 

4 accept, information concerning charges. The information 

5 submitted to the Commission may include the bill of lading 

6 numbers, certifications, or any other relevant information. 

7 ‘‘(b) INVESTIGATION.—Upon receipt of a submission 

8 under subsection (a), with respect to a charge assessed 

9 by a common carrier, the Commission shall promptly in10 vestigate the charge with regard to compliance with sec11 tion 41104(a). The common carrier shall— 

12 ‘‘(1) be provided an opportunity to submit addi13 tional information related to the charge in question; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(2) bear the burden of establishing the reason16 ableness of any demurrage or detention charges 

17 which are the subject of any complaint proceeding 

18 challenging a common carrier or marine terminal op19 erator demurrage or detention charge pursuant to 

20 section 545.5 of title 46, Code of Federal regulations 

21 (or successor regulations). 

22 ‘‘(c) REFUND.—Upon receipt of submissions under 

23 subsection (a), if the Commission determines that a 

24 charge does not comply with section 41104(a), the Com25 mission shall promptly order the refund of any demurrage 

26 and detention charges paid. 


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1 ‘‘(d) PENALTIES.—In the event of a finding that a 

2 charge does not comply with section 41104(a) after sub3 mission under subsection (a), a civil penalty under section 

4 41107 shall be applied to the common carrier making such 

5 charge.’’. 

6 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap7 ter 413 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 

8 adding at the end the following: 

‘‘41310. Charge complaints.’’. 

9 SEC. 11. INVESTIGATIONS. 

10 (a) AMENDMENTS.—Section 41302 of title 46, 

11 United States Code, is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence, by 

13 striking ‘‘or agreement’’ and inserting ‘‘agreement, 

14 fee, or charge’’; and 

15 (2) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

17 ‘‘Agreement’’ and inserting ‘‘Agreement, 

18 fee, or charge’’; and 

19 (B) by inserting ‘‘, fee, or charge’’ after 

20 ‘‘agreement’’. 

21 (b) REPORT.—The Federal Maritime Commission 

22 shall publish on a publicly available website of the Com23 mission a report containing the results of the investigation 

24 entitled ‘‘Fact Finding No. 29, International Ocean 

25 Transportation Supply Chain Engagement’’. 


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1 SEC. 12. AWARD OF ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS. 

2 Section 41305 of title 46, United States Code, is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (c)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘section 41102(b),’’ 

6 through ‘‘or (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b), 

7 (c), or (d) of section 41102, paragraph (3) or 

8 (6) of section 41104(a), or paragraph (1) or (3) 

9 of section 41105’’; and 

10 (B) by inserting ‘‘or if the Commission de11 termined that a violation of section 41104(a) of 

12 this title was made,’’ after ‘‘of this title’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘section 

14 41104(4)(A) or (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 

15 (A) or (B) of section 41104(a)(4)’’. 

16 SEC. 13. ENFORCEMENT OF REPARATION ORDERS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 41309 of title 46, United 

18 States Code, is amended— 

19 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘or re20 fund’’ after ‘‘reparation’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) by inserting ‘‘or refund of a charge’’ 

23 after ‘‘payment of reparation’’; and 

24 (B) by inserting ‘‘or to whom the refund of 

25 the charge was ordered’’ after ‘‘award was 

26 made’’; and 


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1 (3) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘or refund of 

2 such a charge’’ after ‘‘award of reparation’’. 

3 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap4 ter 413 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by 

5 striking the item relating to section 41309 and inserting 

6 the following: 

‘‘41309. Enforcement of reparation or refund orders.’’. 

7 SEC. 14. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

8 Section 46106(b) of title 46, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (5) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

11 end; 

12 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period and 

13 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(7) an identification of any otherwise con16 cerning practices by ocean common carriers, particu17 larly such carriers that are controlled carriers, that 

18 are— 

19 ‘‘(A) State-owned or State-controlled enter20 prises; or 

21 ‘‘(B) owned or controlled by, a subsidiary 

22 of, or otherwise related legally or financially 

23 (other than a minority relationship or invest24 ment) to a corporation based in a country— 


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1 ‘‘(i) identified as a nonmarket econ2 omy country (as defined in section 771(18) 

3 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 

4 1677(18))) as of the date of enactment of 

5 this paragraph; 

6 ‘‘(ii) identified by the United States 

7 Trade Representative in the most recent 

8 report required by section 182 of the 

9 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2242) as a 

10 priority foreign country under subsection 

11 (a)(2) of that section; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) subject to monitoring by the 

13 United States Trade Representative under 

14 section 306 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 

15 U.S.C. 2416).’’. 

16 SEC. 15. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS. 

17 (a) ADDITIONAL PENALTIES.—Section 41108(a) of 

18 title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘sec19 tion 41104(1), (2), or (7)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1), 

20 (2), or (7) of section 41104(a)’’. 

21 (b) ASSESSMENT OF PENALTIES.—Section 41109(c) 

22 of title 46, United States Code, is amended by striking 

23 ‘‘section 41104(1) or (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1) 

24 or (2) of section 41104(a)’’. 

Æ 


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