CHAPTER 411 —PROHIBITIONS AND PENALTIES
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2018—
§41101. Joint ventures and consortiums
In this chapter, a joint venture or consortium of two or more common carriers operating as a single entity is deemed to be a single common carrier.
(
| Revised Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
|---|---|---|
| 41101 | 46 App.:1709(e). |
§41102. General prohibitions
(a)
(b)
(1) the agreement has not become effective under
(2) the operation is not in accordance with the terms of the agreement or any modifications to the agreement made by the Federal Maritime Commission.
(c)
(
| Revised Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
|---|---|---|
| 41102(a) | 46 App.:1709(a)(1). | |
| 41102(b) | 46 App.:1709(a)(2), (3). | |
| 41102(c) | 46 App.:1709(d)(1). |
§41103. Disclosure of information
(a)
(1) may be used to the detriment or prejudice of the shipper, the consignee, or any common carrier; or
(2) may improperly disclose its business transaction to a competitor.
(b)
(1) in response to legal process;
(2) to the Federal Maritime Commission or an agency of the United States Government; or
(3) to an independent neutral body operating within the scope of its authority to fulfill the policing obligations of the parties to an agreement effective under this part.
(c)
(1) may give information to the conference or any person or agency designated by the conference, for the purpose of—
(A) determining whether a shipper or consignee has breached an agreement with the conference or its member lines;
(B) determining whether a member of the conference has breached the conference agreement; or
(C) compiling statistics of cargo movement; and
(2) may not prevent the conference or its designee from soliciting or receiving information for any of those purposes.
(
| Revised Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
|---|---|---|
| 41103(a) | 46 App.:1709(b)(13), (d)(3) (related to (b)(13)), (5). | |
| 41103(b) | 46 App.:1709(b) (next-to-last sentence). | |
| 41103(c) | 46 App.:1709(b) (last sentence). |
In subsection (a), the words "marine terminal operator, or ocean freight forwarder" are added because of 46 App. U.S.C. 1709(d)(3) and (5). The words "ocean freight forwarder" are substituted for "ocean transportation intermediaries, as defined by section 1702(17)(A) of this Appendix" in 46 App. U.S.C. 1709(d)(5) because the definition of "ocean transportation intermediary" in section 1702(17)(A) contains a definition of "ocean freight forwarder" which is restated as a separate definition.
In subsection (b), the words "does not prevent" are substituted for "Nothing . . . shall be construed to prevent" to eliminate unnecessary words.
In subsection (c)(1), the words "may give information" are substituted for "Nor shall it be prohibited . . . to give information" to eliminate unnecessary words. The words "firm, corporation" are omitted as unnecessary because firms and corporations are persons.
In subsection (c)(2), the words "may not prevent" are substituted for "Nor shall it be prohibited . . . to prevent" to reflect the probable intent of Congress. The words "but the use of such information for any other purpose prohibited by this chapter or any other Act is prohibited" are omitted as unnecessary.
§41104. Common carriers
(a)
(1) allow a person to obtain transportation for property at less than the rates or charges established by the carrier in its tariff or service contract by means of false billing, false classification, false weighing, false measurement, or any other unjust or unfair device or means;
(2) provide service in the liner trade that is—
(A) not in accordance with the rates, charges, classifications, rules, and practices contained in a tariff published or a service contract entered into under
(B) under a tariff or service contract that has been suspended or prohibited by the Federal Maritime Commission under
(3) retaliate against a shipper by refusing, or threatening to refuse, cargo space accommodations when available, or resort to other unfair or unjustly discriminatory methods because the shipper has patronized another carrier, or has filed a complaint, or for any other reason;
(4) for service pursuant to a tariff, engage in any unfair or unjustly discriminatory practice in the matter of—
(A) rates or charges;
(B) cargo classifications;
(C) cargo space accommodations or other facilities, with due regard being given to the proper loading of the vessel and the available tonnage;
(D) loading and landing of freight; or
(E) adjustment and settlement of claims;
(5) for service pursuant to a service contract, engage in any unfair or unjustly discriminatory practice in the matter of rates or charges with respect to any port;
(6) use a vessel in a particular trade for the purpose of excluding, preventing, or reducing competition by driving another ocean common carrier out of that trade;
(7) offer or pay any deferred rebates;
(8) for service pursuant to a tariff, give any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage or impose any undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage;
(9) for service pursuant to a service contract, give any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage or impose any undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage with respect to any port;
(10) unreasonably refuse to deal or negotiate;
(11) knowingly and willfully accept cargo from or transport cargo for the account of a non-vessel-operating common carrier that does not have a tariff as required by
(12) knowingly and willfully enter into a service contract with an ocean transportation intermediary that does not have a tariff as required by
(13) continue to participate simultaneously in a rate discussion agreement and an agreement to share vessels, in the same trade, if the interplay of the authorities exercised by the specified agreements is likely, by a reduction in competition, to produce an unreasonable reduction in transportation service or an unreasonable increase in transportation cost.
(b)
(c)
(
| Revised Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
|---|---|---|
| 41104 | 46 App.:1709(b) (1)–(12). |
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2018—Subsec. (a).
Subsec. (a)(11).
Subsec. (a)(13).
Subsecs. (b), (c).
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 2018 Amendment
§41105. Concerted action
A conference or group of two or more common carriers may not—
(1) boycott or take any other concerted action resulting in an unreasonable refusal to deal;
(2) engage in conduct that unreasonably restricts the use of intermodal services or technological innovations;
(3) engage in any predatory practice designed to eliminate the participation, or deny the entry, in a particular trade of a common carrier not a member of the conference, a group of common carriers, an ocean tramp, or a bulk carrier;
(4) negotiate with a non-ocean carrier or group of non-ocean carriers (such as truck, rail, or air operators) on any matter relating to rates or services provided to ocean common carriers within the United States by those non-ocean carriers, unless the negotiations and any resulting agreements are not in violation of the antitrust laws and are consistent with the purposes of this part, except that this paragraph does not prohibit the setting and publishing of a joint through rate by a conference, joint venture, or association of ocean common carriers;
(5) negotiate with a tug or towing vessel service provider on any matter relating to rates or services provided within the United States by those tugs or towing vessels;
(6) with respect to a vessel operated by an ocean common carrier within the United States, negotiate for the purchase of certain covered services, unless the negotiations and any resulting agreements are not in violation of the antitrust laws and are consistent with the purposes of this part, except that this paragraph does not prohibit the setting and publishing of a joint through rate by a conference, joint venture, or association of ocean common carriers;
(7) deny in the export foreign commerce of the United States compensation to an ocean freight forwarder or limit that compensation to less than a reasonable amount;
(8) allocate shippers among specific carriers that are parties to the agreement or prohibit a carrier that is a party to the agreement from soliciting cargo from a particular shipper, except as—
(A) authorized by
(B) required by the law of the United States or the importing or exporting country; or
(C) agreed to by a shipper in a service contract;
(9) for service pursuant to a service contract, engage in any unjustly discriminatory practice in the matter of rates or charges with respect to any locality, port, or person due to the person's status as a shippers' association or ocean transportation intermediary; or
(10) for service pursuant to a service contract, give any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage or impose any undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage with respect to any locality, port, or person due to the person's status as a shippers' association or ocean transportation intermediary.
(
| Revised Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
|---|---|---|
| 41105 | 46 App.:1709(c). |
In paragraph (5), the words "ocean freight forwarder" are substituted for "ocean transportation intermediary, as defined by section 1702(17)(A) of this Appendix" because the definition of "ocean transportation intermediary" in section 1702(17)(A) contains a definition of "ocean freight forwarder" which is restated as a separate definition.
Editorial Notes
Amendments
2018—Pars. (5) to (10).
§41105A. Authority
Nothing in section 41105, as amended by the Federal Maritime Commission Authorization Act of 2017, shall be construed to limit the authority of the Department of Justice regarding antitrust matters.
(Added
Editorial Notes
References in Text
Section 41105, as amended by the Federal Maritime Commission Authorization Act of 2017, referred to in text, is
§41106. Marine terminal operators
A marine terminal operator may not—
(1) agree with another marine terminal operator or with a common carrier to boycott, or unreasonably discriminate in the provision of terminal services to, a common carrier or ocean tramp;
(2) give any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage or impose any undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage with respect to any person; or
(3) unreasonably refuse to deal or negotiate.
(
| Revised Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
|---|---|---|
| 41106(1) | 46 App.:1709(d)(2). | |
| 41106(2) | 46 App.:1709(d)(4). | |
| 41106(3) | 46 App.:1709(d)(3) (related to (b)(10)). |
§41107. Monetary penalties
(a)
(b)
(
| Revised Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
|---|---|---|
| 41107 | 46 App.:1712(a). |
In subsection (b), the words "is subject to an action in rem to enforce the lien" are substituted for "may be libeled therefore" to modernize the language.
§41108. Additional penalties
(a)
(b)
(c)
(1)
(A) suspend any or all tariffs of the carrier or the carrier's right to use any or all tariffs of conferences of which it is a member; and
(B) request the Secretary of Homeland Security to refuse or revoke any clearance required for a vessel operated by the carrier, and when so requested, the Secretary shall refuse or revoke the clearance.
(2)
(d)
(e)
(
| Revised Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
|---|---|---|
| 41108(a) | 46 App.:1712(b)(1). | |
| 41108(b) | 46 App.:1712(b)(3). | |
| 41108(c) | 46 App.:1712(b)(2), (4), (5). | |
| 41108(d) | 46 App.:1712(b)(6). | |
| 46 App.:1710a(h) (related to 1712(b)(6)). | ||
| 41108(e) | 46 App.:1712(b)(7). |
In subsection (c)(1)(B), the words "Secretary of Homeland Security" are substituted for "Secretary of the Treasury" because the functions of the Secretary of the Treasury relating to the Customs Service were transferred to the Secretary of Homeland Security by section 403(1) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (
Editorial Notes
References in Text
Pars. (1), (2), and (7) of
1 See References in Text note below.
§41109. Assessment of penalties
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(
| Revised Section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
|---|---|---|
| 41109(a) | 46 App.:1712(c) (1st, last sentences). | |
| 41109(b) | 46 App.:1712(c) (2d sentence). | |
| 41109(c) | 46 App.:1712(f)(1) (1st sentence). | |
| 41109(d) | 46 App.:1712(f)(1) (last sentence). | |
| 41109(e) | 46 App.:1712(f)(2). | |
| 41109(f) | 46 App.:1712(d). | |
| 41109(g) | 46 App.:1712(e). |
Editorial Notes
References in Text
Pars. (1) and (2) of