FMC Launches Slow Steaming Inquiry

Commission hopes to study its effects on shippers and the supply chain


The Federal Maritime Commission is stepping up its attention to ocean carrier practices, voting Wednesday to launch a formal inquiry into slow steaming.


The commission voted Wednesday to publish its formal notice of inquiry, two weeks after Chairman Richard A. Lidinsky Jr. said he would like to look into the economic effects of slow steaming.


The commission gave the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement members permission to discuss slow steaming under antitrust immunity.


Ray Pearson, deputy director of the FMC’s Bureau of Trade Analysis, told the commission academic studies of slow steaming showed carriers can save $3 billion per year in fuel costs, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 11 percent. However, no one has studied the economic effects on shippers and the supply chain.


The commission reportedly received complaints from some shippers that carriers are not passing on the fuel savings as reductions in bunker surcharges. According to a staff member, the inquiry will give the commission as a neutral party to look at costs and benefits.
(Source:http://www.joc.com)