James Oberstar: “I rise in support of S. 414, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1997. This bill is the culmination of a process that began…”

“I rise in support of S. 414, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1997. This bill is the culmination of a process that began in the Transportation Committee last Congress with House passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1995. That bill, H.R. 2149, would have drastically changed the way international common carriage by water is regulated. I was very concerned about that bill because of the unrestricted authority it gave conferences or cartels to enter into confidential contracts. The approach contained in S. 414 is much more balanced. That is why it is supported by vessel operators, manufacturers, ports, seagoing labor, and shoreside labor. Enactment of S. 414 will allow individual carriers and conferences to enter into more confidential contracts than they are allowed today. However, they must continue to disclose with the Federal Maritime Commission the commodity, volume, origin and destination port ranges, and contract duration. Similarly, carriers and conferences will no longer have to file tariffs with the Commission, but they must make their tariffs publicly available electronically, such as through the internet.”