[EN-SEA] "Maersk" to Issue Refunds For On-Time Cargo, Fines For No-Shows

STARTING May of this year, Maersk Line will launch a pilot programme on its US-China TP8 service where shippers who check-in cargo on time will get a US$10 refund while who don't get a $10 fine.

The new programme, restricted to exempt commodities, addresses high no-show rates that waste vessel space use on one hand, but also seeks to reduce delays from the over-booking carriers deploy to cut shortfalls, reports American Shipper.

The Danish carrier said it prepared for one third of reserved cargo not to show up, resulting in cases where a 6,000-TEU vessel is supposedly expecting 8,000-TEU of cargo, but anticipating 2,000 TEU will not arrive.

The TP8 service deploys six ships averaging 8,242 TEU and calls at Oakland Los Angeles, Dalian, Shanghai, Xinjiang and Ningbo.

Speaking for shipper, Agriculture Transportation Coalition chief Peter Friedmann said US exporters were growing increasingly frustrated with delays and would prefer to see penalties 10 times higher than those proposed by Maersk.

When a carrier falls through on a booking, Mr Friedmann said, the loss to them is negligible, as they can always fill the space with cargo from another shipper. But when a shipper fails to make a shipment to its customer, he added, they may lose the customer.

The Federal Maritime Commission has launched a fact-finding investigation to look into the issue, which was recently raised by shippers at a congressional hearing about a week before the Maersk announcement.

World Shipping Council president Chris Koch said problem facing US exporters is the lack of inland facilities to handle containers and shippers need to provide larger volumes to entice carriers to provide them, he said.

Ports such as Long Beach in southern California, Mr Koch said, have plenty of capacity for more cargo, and are currently trying to compel shippers to bring in their deliveries via bulk rail shipments.

Source : HKSG, 01.04.10.