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Reminder of the Regulations from the Chinese Ministry of Transport (MoT)
Dear Valued Customer,
Maersk Line has announced the implementation of regulation issued by the Chinese Ministry of Transport (MoT) on contract filings with Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE) in February 2014. We thank you for the support that you have given to Maersk Line during past two years.
Effective 1 August 2016, we would like to inform you that, Maersk Line will cease acceptance for bookings if any contracts with non-registered NVOCC.
Hereunder, please find details of this regulation as a kind reminder.
The regulation [Circular 64 (2013)] states that:
Carriers are entitled to negotiate rates with (1) the actual Cargo Owner or (2) Non-Vessel-Operating-Common-Carrier (NVOCC) only if the NVOCC is registered with the Chinese Ministry of Transport (MoT).
A service contract can only be used by the contractual customer and its affiliates who are parties to the contract.
Only the contractual customer or its affiliates can appear as either the shipper, consignee or 1st notify party on the B/L.
At least one entity: shipper, consignee or 1st notify party in the ocean B/L must fall into the category of (1) BCO or (2) MoT registered NVOCC.
Service contracts under MoT regulated lanes must be filed and accepted by Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE)* prior to vessel departure.
Contracts can only be valid after 24 hours of filing with SSE.
* MoT has appointed the Shanghai Shipping Exchange (SSE) as the entity for receiving tariff and contract filing from all carriers.
Consequence of Non-compliance:
Income earned out of non-compliance to the regulations by a non-registered NVOCC will be considered illegal income. This will be confiscated by the Chinese government.
A fine equivalent to 5 times the illegal income earned is payable in case of non-compliance to these regulations.
Any deviation from these regulations if discovered by MoT will be considered an abuse of contract and shall be considered a violation to international maritime rules.
Penalties for a Carrier can include cancellation of business license to operate in China or compulsory reduction of port calls.
Requested Actions:
1. If you are an NVOCC or freight forwarder customer that is already registered with the Chinese Ministry of Transport, please ensure to quote your MoT registration number when requesting quotations or making bookings with Maersk Line.
2. If you are an NVOCC or freight forwarding customer that is not yet registered or your registration has expired, please initiate your registration with the Chinese Ministry of Transport. For reference to the MoT guidelines, please click here: http://en.sse.net.cn/filingen/aboutfiling.jsp.
We thank you for your support for Maersk Line. For any questions, please feel free to contact your local customer service or sales representatives. You will find contact details of our local office on www.maerskline.com.
Yours sincerely, Maersk Line Greater China Cluster
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