The U.S. government, through the Federal Maritime Commission, has designated a Chinese government-affiliated shipping carrier as a controlled carrier.
In its latest update on February 27th, the Federal Maritime Commission published an update to its Controlled Carrier List. During this update, it informed the public that the shipping company Hede (HONGKONG) International Shipping Limited was added as a Controller Carrier affiliated with the Chinese government.
In addition to Hede (HONGKONG), the Controlled Carrier List already includes the following shippers:
1. COSCO SHIPPING Lines Co., Ltd. (RPI No. 015614) – affiliated with the Chinese government
2. Orient Overseas Container Line Limited (RPI No. 011398) – affiliated with the Chinese government
3. OOCL (Europe) Limited (RPI No. 024786) – affiliated with the Chinese government
What is the Controlled Carrier List?
The Controlled Carrier List is an enforcement mechanism by the U.S. government, through the FMC, to apply additional oversight to certain shipping companies. When a company is added to the list, the FMC can easily identify which shippers are controlled by foreign governments. The goal is to not have unreasonable competitive practices that hurt the competition. Similar to actions by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, the Controlled Carrier List is centered around fair trade practices, but relating to shipping.
Another action by the FMC through its Controlled Carrier List was to remove COSCO Shipping Lines (Europe) GmbH as a controlled carrier, as that specific entity no longer conducts business in the U.S. However, as noted above, COSCO SHIPPING Lines Co., Ltd. (RPI No. 015614), a separate entity for legal purposes, is on the most-updated list.
Published as part of the Federal Register, the Controlled Carrier List, it should be noted, does not include all foreign-owned or controlled ships/owners. It only includes ocean common carriers that are controlled by foreign governments.
