March 15, 2016

From the Desk of Capt. Jeff Monroe

TERMINAL FINES

A federal court in Brazil reversed a lower court which had allowed The Brazilian Antitrust Authority (CADE) to impose a fine on two port operator companies at the Port of Santos for what CADE characterized as anticompetitive practices. The port operators charge one fee for handling containers when they take them from the hold of the ship, and place them at the appropriate spot there at the terminal. This is a terminal handling charge, or THC. These operators charged another fee (THC-2), for moving the container again, from the spot at the terminal, to another location, at the request of Customs. Initially, CADE came down on the port operators, and fined them for that "anti-competitive" practice, and subsequently won when the companies challenged the fine in court. On appeal, the Fourth Panel of the Regional Federal Appellate Court reversed the lower court, and effectively reprimanded CADE for abusive conduct. (Contributed by IAMPE Member Frederick, Quinlan, Tupper, LLC)

IMPACT OF FINAL RULE ON ATTORNEY FEES IN SHIPPING ACT CASES

The Federal Maritime Commission has issued a new rule, effective March 1st, that affects the award of attorney fees in Shipping Act cases. The final rule is an attempt to clarify which parties can collect attorney fees and the standards used to justify an award of attorney fees. The major impact comes from the Commission’s decision that prevailing complainants and prevailing respondents should be treated equally; i.e., there will no longer be a preference for awarding attorney fees only to (successful) complainants. Traditionally in the U.S., the award of attorney fees in litigation is available to further certain policy goals, such as encouraging attorneys to take on cases for less wealthy plaintiffs, to discourage frivolous lawsuits, or as punitive measures for exceptionally malicious conduct. Here, the commission decided that the Shipping Act is particularly concerned with fairness of process, and that, “respondents who seek to advance meritorious defenses of their actions should be encouraged to litigate them to the same extent that complainants are encouraged to litigate meritorious claims of violations.” 81 FR 10514. This new rule provides a direct subsidy to the cost of defending allegations of violation of the Shipping Act, and an indirect subsidy to insurers. (Contributed by IAMPE Member Birney Consulting)

REGISTRATIONS NOW OPEN FOR 2016 SEMINARS-LIMIT 15

MPM-MPE, Anchorage: April 4-8, 2016

MPM-MPE, Portland, Maine:

May 9 to May 13

June 20 to June 24

September 26 to September 30

Continuing Education Seminar: Portland, ME Oct 11-Oct 13

(A new course in Terminal Operations will be offered in the fall for entry level personnel)

Applications are available from John Gleason, IAMPE Registrar at registration@iampe.org or by calling 207-200-2420.

Marine Port Management (2 Days-16 hours) $1,000 USD

Day 1: Systematic transportation approaches including logistics pathways, origin and destination routes and transportation modes, management perspectives including public port governance, terminal management,port/terminal administration and finance, industry perspectives and future trends.

Day 2: Intermodal cargo facilities, marine transportation systems, marine facilities as intermodal connectors, marine facility operations, equipment, regulatory requirements, safety, security and emergency response planning. Day 2 includes a case study related to port management.

Marine Port Executive (2.5 days-20 hours) $1,000 USD

(Prerequisite: Marine Port Manager Certification-program may be taken currently with MPM program).

Day 3: The management of port property, connectivity including port influences over waterways-roadways-railways, property maintenance and asset risk management. The management of cargo including transportation, protection, cost, pricing of services, port and terminal impacts, value added services, bills of lading, vessel chartering and liner services. Day 3 includes a case study related to facility utilization and management.

Day 4: Port and terminal business development, application of the O/D analysis, tariffs, terminal rules and regulations, operating plans, port business development, and planning processes including strategic planning, master planning, logistics and cargo planning as well as the management of public relations, public information and media planning. Day 4 includes a business development case study.

Day 5: Practical application of port management and executive management systems including a situational analysis and group planning project.

Professional Certification

IAMPE professional certifications are approved by the Standards Committee of the Association as reviewed and endorsed by the Board of the Advisors of the IAMPE. MPM and MPE are professional industry trademarks of the IAMPE. Standards committee chair and program manager/presenter is Capt. Jeffrey Monroe, MM, MTM, and CMPE. Program information can be accepted for Continuing Education and Academic Credit on a case by case basis. The IAMPE provides information to institutions for credit consideration based on classroom hours, program structure, prerequisite requirements, evaluations and content.

Capt. Jeffrey W. Monroe, MM, MTM, CMPE Director: Education, Standards and Training Programs International Association of Maritime and Port Executives 11 Katahdin Road. Portland, ME 04107-2828 USA Phone: (207) 741-7000, Cell: (207) 615-7989 jeffrey.monroe@iampe.org www.iampe.org