The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has hinted there will be significant changes to rules relating to the 1998 Ocean Shipping Reform Act before they are implemented in March.
A Journal of Commerce report quoted two of the four FMC commissioners - John Moran and Ming Hsu - as saying they were sympathetic to the barrage of complaints about the proposed rules from leading shippers and ocean carriers.
And FMC chairman Harold Creel repeatedly said no final decisions had been made and 'significant changes' were possible to the draft rules issued by the agency two months ago.
One rule that would affect Hong Kong non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) would increase the bond amount for non-US NVOCCs from US$50,000 to $150,000.
The FMC said the $50,000 figure dated from 1990 and 'current circumstances warrant the increased amounts'.
It said an increased number of NVOCCs had gone bankrupt or changed company names to avoid responsibilities arising from transport-related activities.
'Increasingly, injured shippers have not been made whole when seeking reparation from the instrument of financial responsibility,' the FMC said.