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| Former CBP officer pleads guilty to obstructing justice |
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Friday, April 20, 2018
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The U.S. Justice Department said Christopher M. Holbrook, a former Customs and Border Protection officer, on Thursday pleaded guilty in a federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to obstructing justice in a case involving the use of excessive force. Holbrook now faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.
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| Compliance 360: Feeling the trade policy strain |
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Tuesday, April 03, 2018
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Those of us in the trade world who thought policy would settle down to some sort of soothed equilibrium a little over a year into the Trump administration are realizing how wrong we were. With understandably anxious clients - compounded by a rapid succession of tariffs unlike anything the U.S. has seen in recent years and an executive branch that finally got a slew of empty high-level trade positions filled through Senate confirmations in March - compliance professionals face a ...
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| Shippers' Law: Damaged entirely or in part? |
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Monday, April 02, 2018
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An expensive machine packed in 10 crates was damaged while being shipped from South Korea to a semiconductor manufacturer in Orlando, Fla. The crates did not fly directly to Orlando, but to Miami, and then were trucked to Orlando. During that time, the robotic arm of the machine was severely damaged and had to be replaced. Meanwhile, U.S. courts wrestled over whether the Montreal Convention’s liability provisions applied to the air cargo damaged while in a warehouse...
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| Pennsylvania man indicted for illegal gun part exports |
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Monday, March 26, 2018
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A federal court in Pennsylvania last week charged Ross Roggio of Stroudsburg, Pa., and his firm Roggio Consulting Co., with conspiracy to illegally export firearm parts and tools to Iraq for manufacturing M4 rifles. These shipments were made in violation of both the Arms Export Control Act and International Emergency Economic Powers Act, according to the Justice Department. A Commerce Department license is required to export certain goods and services from the Unite...
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| Nuclear materials transporter slapped with $2m fine |
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Wednesday, March 14, 2018
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The U.S. Justice Department said Transport Logistics International (TLI), a Maryland-based company that provides transportation services for nuclear materials in the United States and overseas, has agreed to pay a $2 million criminal penalty to settle allegations of bribing a Russian official. TLI specifically violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) from 2004 to 2014 when it paid more than $1.7 million to offshore bank accounts at the direction of Vadim Mikerin, a Russ...
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| Trucking firm fined for overcharging Postal Service |
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Tuesday, March 13, 2018
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The U.S. Justice Department said Mt. Crawford, Va.-based Beam Bros. Trucking (BBT), and owners Gerald Beam and Garland Beam, have agreed to pay $1,025,000 to resolve allegations that they overcharged the U.S. Postal Service on contracts to transport mail. The Postal Service contracts with trucking companies, including BBT, to transport mail throughout the United States. On some contracts, the Postal Service provides trucking contractors with credit cards, known as Voyager Cards,...
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| Shipowner, officer convicted of illegal discharges |
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Tuesday, February 27, 2018
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The U.S. Justice Department said Sea World Management & Trading and Edmon Fajardo were convicted Monday of maintaining false and incomplete records related to oil and garbage discharges from the oil tanker, Sea Faith , that was operating off the Texas coast near Corpus Christi in early 2017. Specifically, the company and Fajardo pleaded guilty to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships and to not accurately maintaining the Sea Faith ’s oil and garbage record books....
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| Treasury sanctions Libyan oil smugglers |
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Monday, February 26, 2018
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The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned six individuals, 24 entities, and seven vessels for the illicit production, refining, brokering, sale, purchase or export of Libyan oil. “Oil smuggling undermines Libya’s sovereignty, fuels the black market and contributes to further instability in the region while robbing the population of resources that are rightly theirs,” OFAC said in a statement on Monday. The UN Security Coun...
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| Three men indicted for illegal exports to Hizballah |
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Thursday, February 22, 2018
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The U.S. Justice Department said three men were indicted Monday for their role in conspiring to illegally export goods and technology from the United States to support Hizballah in Lebanon. Hizballah is designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist group. According to the Justice Department, the illegal exports were attempted from 2009 to 2013 by Usama Darwich Hamade, 53, Samir Ahmed Berro, 64, and Issam Darwich Hamade, 55, in violation of the International...
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| Former CP employee sentenced for IT sabotage |
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Wednesday, February 14, 2018
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The Justice Department on Tuesday said Christopher Victor Grupe was sentenced to a year, plus one day, to prison for intentionally causing damage to Canadian Pacific Railway’s computer system. Grupe, 46, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Patrick J. Schiltz of the District of Minnesota. He was convicted of one count of intentional damage to a protected computer on Oct. 6, 2017, following a five-day jury trial in Minneapolis. According to court records, from Septem...
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| Chinese national pleads guilty to smuggling counterfeit Apple products |
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Thursday, February 08, 2018
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Jianhua “Jeff” Li, a 43-year-old Chinese national living in the United States on a student visa, pleaded guilty in a New Jersey district court Friday to his participation in a scheme to smuggle counterfeit Apple iPhones and iPads from China into the United States, the Justice Department said. From July 2009 through February 2014, Li and his company Dream Digitals conspired with Andreina Becerra, Roberto Volpe, Rosario LaMarca, and others to smuggle over 40,000 counterfeit electr...
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| German shippers take on rising cargo thefts |
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Thursday, February 08, 2018
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German business associations say they are fed up with an increase of cargo thefts throughout Germany and have launched a joint initiative to fight back. The 13 associations, led by the Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA), estimate that as much as $1.6 billion in goods are now stolen during transit across Germany each year. According to the associations’ analysis, physical cargo carried onboard about 26,000 trucks is stolen in Germany every year, averagin...
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| Texas man sentenced in illicit export scheme |
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Thursday, February 01, 2018
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A Plano, Texas resident was sentenced by a U.S. district judge this week to 46 months in jail for his role in conspiring to smuggle and illegally export hardened integrated circuits to China and Russia. In addition, the court sentenced Peter Zuccarelli, 62, to three years supervised release and a $50,000 fine. The circuits, which were exported in violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), were destined for Chinese and Russian space program...
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| A maritime reporter like no other |
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Monday, January 29, 2018
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Those of us in the industry who had the distinct privilege of engaging longtime maritime reporter, Bob Mottley, in conversation at press gatherings or conferences over the past 40 years never forgot him. His larger-than-life presence, irresistible charm and sense of humor eased both anxious and reserved executives during interviews and allowed them to discuss their businesses, as well as careers, in a most open and personable way. While these interviews resulted in fascinating a...
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| Two men charged with illegal China export scheme |
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Wednesday, January 24, 2018
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The U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday that two individuals, Yi-Chi Shih and Kiet Ahn Mai, were arrested on Jan. 19 and subsequently charged with illegally obtaining technology and integrated circuits with military applications that were exported to a Chinese company without the required U.S. export license. Sixty-two-year-old Shih is an electrical engineer who is a part-time Los Angeles resident and a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Taiwan, while Mai, 63, who resides...
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| Former Md. transport company exec charged with bribery |
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Thursday, January 18, 2018
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A former co-president of a Maryland-based company specializing in nuclear materials transportation was indicted for his alleged role in bribing officials connected with Russia's State Atomic Energy Corp. According to the U.S. Justice Department, Mark Lambert, 54, of Mount Airy, Md., was charged in an 11-count indictment with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and to commit wire fraud, seven counts of violating the FCPA, two counts of wire...
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| SensiGuard SCIC: Cargo theft expected to increase during holiday season |
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Monday, December 18, 2017
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Losses of cargo due to theft are expected to increase during the 2017 holiday season compared to last year due to many factors, including the two upcoming three-day weekends resulting in cargo being left unattended for longer periods of time. This is according to Massachusetts-based supply chain visibility company Sensitech, which operates the SensiGuard Supply Chain Intelligence Center (SCIC), a cargo theft monitoring service formerly known as FreightWatch. Accordi...
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| VICT: Christmas may not come to Port of Melbourne |
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Thursday, December 07, 2017
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A protest started by the MUA and now continued by the community has hampered port operations for two weeks. Operations at the Victoria International Container Terminal at the Port of Melbourne have been hampered by boycotts for two weeks, despite the Australian Supreme Court ruling the action illegal. The terminal has been subjected to an estimated $100 million Australian (U.S. $75.2 million) in damages as a result of the picketing, said VICT CEO Ander Dommestrup. As a result, ...
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| NLRB: Pasha culpable for shipbuilding labor contract violations |
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Wednesday, December 06, 2017
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The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has upheld a labor union complaint against transportation and logistics company The Pasha Group and its Pasha Hawaii subsidiary for violations involving two new containerships being built at Keppel AmFELS, in Brownsville, Texas, the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P) said in a statement. The MM&P had alleged that the National Labor Relations Act and its collective bargaining agreement require Pasha ...
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| Port of Seattle reaches $8m settlement with fired employees |
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Monday, December 04, 2017
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The Port of Seattle has agreed to pay a total of $8 million to two former employees who said they were retaliated against for opposing lease concessions to businesses owned by friends and political supporters of a now-former port commissioner. The settlement was agreed to Nov. 30, just as a judge was preparing to issue a verdict in the case. Port employees Elaine Lincoln and Deanna Zachrisson were fired in mid-2015 after emails from four years earlier were dug up in...
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| Judge orders drayage provider to reclassify contract port drivers as employees |
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Friday, December 01, 2017
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An Administrative Law Judge has issued a ruling in which he ordered New Jersey-based Intermodal Bridge Transport, a trucking contractor for retailer Target, to cease and desist from misclassifying its contract port truck drivers as independent contractors and recognize them as employees. In a decision handed down Nov. 28, ALJ Dickie Montemayor said he agreed with the Teamsters that IBT's “misclassifying employees as independent contractors” is an “unfair labor practice” and a vi...
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| Judge postpones Waymo-Uber trial amid accusations defendant hid evidence |
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Wednesday, November 29, 2017
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The day before jury section was set to begin, a federal judge in San Francisco indefinitely delayed the start of the trade secrets trial between Waymo and Uber, citing the discovery of a letter detailing Uber’s alleged efforts to spy on and steal from competitors. On Nov. 28, Judge William Alsup put the start of the trial on hold after he was notified by the United States attorney’s office of a letter that purportedly detailed a covert effort by Uber to not only gather intellig...
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| Trucking lawsuit accuses Indiana Dept. of Revenue of unauthorized fee collection |
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Monday, November 20, 2017
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A lawsuit filed last week in Marion County, Ind. accuses the Indiana Department of Revenue (INDOR) of collecting annual Unified Carrier Registration fees from hundreds of thousands of truckers across the U.S. without authorization under Indiana law, according to reports from multiple news sources. Indiana handles 400,000 registrations and over $100 million a year in fees on behalf of 41 states under the federally-authorized Unified Carrier Registration Plan, which allows i...
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| Dead body found aboard MOL chemical tanker in San Francisco Bay |
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Monday, November 20, 2017
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An investigation is ongoing in a case where a man was found dead onboard an MOL chemical tanker that was moored at a Phillips 66 facility in the San Francisco Bay Area earlier this month. The man, whose name has not yet been released by authorities, was aboard the Argent Sunrise tanker, owned by Japan-based MOL Chemical Tankers, when his death was reported on the evening of Nov. 12, according to the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). The Richmond, Calif. Fire Department and C...
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| FMCSA shuts down Georgia trucking company after fatal collision |
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Wednesday, November 08, 2017
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A Decatur, Ga.-based freight shipping and trucking company has been ordered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to cease all operations following a fatal freeway accident allegedly caused by one of the company’s co-owners. Keep On Trucking, LLC was directed to immediately cease all interstate and intrastate operations last week after a federal investigation found the company to pose “an imminent hazard to public safety,” the FMCSA said. Keep On Trucking, w...
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| Oakland dockworkers sue PMA, SSA Marine over ‘racial harassment’ |
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Wednesday, November 01, 2017
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Four longshore workers are suing the Pacific Maritime Association and SSA Terminals over what they and their attorney say is racial harassment, failure to prevent racial discrimination and threats and intimidation in the workplace at the Port of Oakland. According to the lawsuit, which was filed Sept. 1 in Alameda County Superior Court by San Francisco-based attorney Angela Alioto, her African-American clients, longshoremen John Hughes, Rickie Cox, Keith Hamilton and Devin Thomp...
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| PANYNJ adopts new board ethics code |
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Friday, October 27, 2017
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In the wake of the replacements of its executive director and board chair, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) has adopted a comprehensive new code of ethics. The code, which was approved Oct. 26, will provide “crisp, clear guidance” to its members on how to deal with potential conflicts between their official responsibilities in setting public policy for the bi-state agency and their private interests, according to the port authority. Crafted by ...
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| Port of LA to consider banning trucking companies from port if drivers aren’t employees |
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Tuesday, October 17, 2017
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Two Los Angeles City Council members have put forward a motion that would effectively bar trucking companies that do not treat their drivers as employees from doing business at the Port of Los Angeles. Councilmen Bob Blumenfield, who represents the San Fernando Valley area, which is home to at least a dozen trucking companies, and Joe Buscaino, whose district includes the port and surrounding area, introduced the motion on Oct. 13. The motion aims to direct members of city ...
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| Judge denies class action status for antitrust lawsuit against U.S. Class Is |
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Monday, October 16, 2017
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U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman on Oct. 10 issued an order denying class action status for a decade-old antitrust lawsuit in which a group of rail shippers is accusing the four major U.S.-based Class I railroads of a five-year price-fixing conspiracy. In an order that was issued nearly 10 years after the case was transferred to the court, Judge Friedman said that the plaintiffs didn’t managed to establish the requirements for the case to be prosecuted as a class action l...
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| Former Canadian Pacific IT employee convicted of systems damage |
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Wednesday, October 11, 2017
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A former employee of Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) has been convicted of causing intentional damage to the railroad’s computer system, according to a statement from the U.S. Justice Department. Christopher Victor Grupe, 46, of Minneapolis was first charged on April 11 with one count of intentional damage to a protected computer, and on Oct. 6, following a five-day trial, was found guilty by a federal jury in Minneapolis. A sentencing date has not been set. Grup...
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| SEC investigates Celadon Group |
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Wednesday, October 04, 2017
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The SEC has called upon Celadon to provide documents related to the subpoena. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated an investigation into Indianapolis-based trucking and logistics company Celadon Group. The company has received a subpoena from the SEC and is in the process of producing documents pursuant to the subpoena, Celadon said in a statement earlier this week. As a result, the company has announced separate equipment financing to af...
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| BIS fines Massachusetts company $230,000 for illicit exports |
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Tuesday, October 03, 2017
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The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has imposed a civil penalty of $230,000 against Northampton, Mass.-based Millitech for 18 violations of the Export Administration Regulations. The violations occurred between Oct. 14, 2011 and July 24, 2014, during which Millitech exported electronic microwave enhancing technology without obtaining the required government licenses. The exports, which are controlled for national security and anti-terrorism purposes, ...
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| Richemont pays $334,800 for 'drug kingpin' sanctions violations |
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Monday, October 02, 2017
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New York-based luxury goods retailer Richemont North America has agreed to pay a $334,800 civil penalty to settle four violations of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Sanctions Regulations, according to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The violations involved shipments of jewelry to Shuen Wai Holding Ltd. in Hong Kong that occurred between Oct. 5, 2010 and April 21, 2011. Shuen Wai was added to OFAC’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and ...
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| Hoegh Autoliners settles cartel suit with DOJ |
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Wednesday, September 27, 2017
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Hoegh Autoliners and the U.S. Department of Justice have reached a settlement in the antitrust case covering the period between 2001 and 2012. Car carrier Höegh Autoliners has reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in an antitrust investigation covering U.S. to Middle East imports, the ocean carrier announced Wednesday. In September 2012, DOJ began investigations into Hoegh Autoliners and several other shipping companies regrading imports between 2001 an...
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| Malaysian shipbuilder sues client over four unpaid vessels |
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Monday, September 25, 2017
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Shin Yang Shipping Corp. Berhad, a Malaysia-based provider of shipbuilding and shipping services, revealed in a Sept. 18 Bursa Malaysia filing that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Shin Yang Shipping Sdn. Bhd. (the plaintiff), filed a claim against an Indonesian client, PT Gemilang Raya Maritime (the defendant), on Sept. 13 in the North Jakarta District Court at Central Jakarta for defaulting on vessel payments. The plaintiff sold and delivered four vessels to the defendant on Oct. ...
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| Essential oil maker pleads guilty to Lacey Act violations |
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Thursday, September 21, 2017
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Young Living Essential Oils, based in Lehi, Utah, pleaded guilty in a federal court Monday to charges that it violated U.S. regulations when it illegally handled shipments of rosewood and spikenard oils, according to a statement from the Justice Department. Specifically, the company violated the Lacey Act and Endangered Species Act when it handled these products without proper authorizations. Young Living was issued a fine of $500,000, in addition to $135,000 in re...
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| Stakeholders air issues with CAAP, proposed update |
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Tuesday, September 19, 2017
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The Clean Air Action Plan (CAAP), a wide-ranging joint initiative by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles has been successful in drastically reducing air pollutants over the past decades, but some critics say that the program had deep flaws that they hope will be corrected in the next version of CAAP, which the ports are currently formulating. During a panel on the CAAP update at the 2017 IANA Intermodal Conference on Sept. 18, representatives from the Pacific Merchant Shippi...
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| New Jersey firm fined $400,000 for export violation |
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Friday, September 15, 2017
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The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) this week imposed a $400,000 civil penalty against Barrington, N.J.-based Bright Lights USA for exports of unauthorized defense components and technical data in violation of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The company, which has been in business with the Defense Department since 1992 and is headed by Daniel A. Farber, manufactures and distributes spare parts, such as rubber stoppers and sea...
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| Port of Vancouver moves for summary judgement in OPMA lawsuit |
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Tuesday, September 12, 2017
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The Port of Vancouver, Wash., is battling a lawsuit that alleges its 2013 closed executive sessions violated OPMA standards. The Port of Vancouver, Wash., has moved for summary judgment in a lawsuit regarding closed executive sessions in 2013, the port announced on Aug 30. Originally brought against the Pacific Northwest port by Columbia Riverkeeper, Sierra Club and the Northwest Environmental Defense Center, the lawsuit states the port violated Washington state’s Open Public M...
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| FAA fines two air cargo shippers for hazmat violations |
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Tuesday, September 12, 2017
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The U.S. Transportation Department’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a $54,000 civil penalty against Interscience of Saint-Nom-la-Breteche, France, for allegedly violating federal hazardous materials transport regulations. The FAA alleges that on Dec. 21, 2016, Interscience offered six plastic bottles of flammable liquid disinfectant spray to American Airlines for air cargo transport from Blagnac, France, to Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Workers at the American cargo fa...
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| Chinese national sentenced to three years in jail for illicit exports |
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Friday, September 01, 2017
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The U.S. Justice Department said 53-year-old Chinese citizen, Fuyi “Frank” Sun, received a three-year prison sentence on Aug. 31 for violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) in relation to an illicit scheme to export high-grade carbon fiber to China without a license. The carbon fiber is sought after for aerospace and military applications. Sun pleaded guilty on April 21. “For nearly five years, Fuyi Sun tried to skirt U.S...
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| Report: Cargo theft in Brazil up 14% in Q2 2017 |
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Wednesday, August 30, 2017
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Statistics show an increase in cargo theft across Brazil in the second quarter of 2017, according to the latest in a series of reports by SensiGuard Security Services, a division of supply chain products and services company Sensitech. Cargo theft in the region increased 14 percent in Q2 2017 compared to the same quarter last year, according to Sensitech data. However, it fell 13 percent compared to the first quarter of the year, according to the report, which was made public Au...
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| Custom Wristbands’ online price-fixing fallout continues |
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Friday, August 25, 2017
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The e-commerce company Custom Wristbands, and its affiliates Kulayful Silicone Bracelets, Kulayful.com, Speedywristbands.com, Promotionalbands.com, Wristbandcreation.com and 1inchbracelets.com, as well as its chief executive Christopher Angeles pleaded guilty to conspiring to fix prices for customized promotional products sold online to customers in the United States. According to court records in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Houston, the conspir...
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| ANSAC fined for unauthorized ballast water discharge near Portland |
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Wednesday, August 23, 2017
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The owner of a 590-foot bulk freighter has been fined by the U.S. Coast Guard for unauthorized ballast water discharge into the Willamette River in Portland earlier this month. The Coast Guard said Aug. 22 that it has issued a $5,000 fine to Connecticut-based logistics company ANSAC after, during a routine port state control ballast water examination on the Panama-flagged 21,000 gross ton ANSAC Moon Bear , Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Portland marine inspectors discovered that...
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| Remains of U.S. sailors found after collision between oil tanker, Navy warship |
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Tuesday, August 22, 2017
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The remains of at least some of the 10 American sailors who were declared missing after their ship collided with a Liberian-flagged oil and chemical tanker have been found, according to the commander of the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet. Adm. Scott Swift said that not all crewmembers who were unaccounted for after the guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain collided with the tanker Alnic MC have been discovered Aug. 22 by divers performing recovery operations, but that ...
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| Report: EMEA cargo theft up significantly in Q2 |
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Wednesday, August 16, 2017
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Over 900 incidences of cargo theft were reported in the second quarter of the year, a sharp uptick from the 586 in Q2 2016. Cargo thefts in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) combined rose by hundreds of incidents in the second quarter of 2017 compared with the same quarter last year, according to a new report by supply chain management company Sensitech. A total of 943 incidences of cargo theft were recorded in the second quarter by Sensitech's SensiGuard Supply Chain I...
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| Freighter pilot pleads to operating cargo plane while drunk |
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Wednesday, August 16, 2017
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A cargo plane pilot under contract with the Defense Department pleaded guilty Tuesday in a Florida district court to charges of operating the aircraft from Osan Air Base in South Korea to Yakota Air Base in Japan while intoxicated, the U.S. Justice Department said. According to the plea, Daniel R. Criss, 61, of Mims, Fla., was employed with a private company on behalf of the U.S. Transportation Command when he operated the Boeing 747 plane on July 14, 2015. He admitted to invest...
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| Shippers' Law: Contained losses |
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Wednesday, August 09, 2017
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The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in May upheld the decision of the American Steamship Owners Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association, Inc. (American Club) to deny coverage to TransAtlantic Lines LLC over costs associated with a suit resulting from lost cargo, ruling the association’s international deliberations were legally binding. TransAtlantic had chartered a barge, the Atlantic Trader , from non-party McAllister Towing Co. Inc. in Februa...
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| E-commerce exec pleads guilty to price-fixing |
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Wednesday, August 09, 2017
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The Justice Department said Azim Makanojiva, president of e-commerce firm Zaappaaz, pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal violation of the Sherman Act for allegedly conspiring to fix prices for customized promotional products sold online to customers. According to the charging documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Houston, Makanojiva and his companies, which include WB Promotions, Wrist-Band.com, and Customlanyard.net, attended m...
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| Three New York toy importers halted |
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Monday, August 07, 2017
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The Justice Department on Friday filed permanent injunctions against three New York companies and their owners to stop importing and selling potentially dangerous toys until certain measures are taken by these firms to clean up the problem. The injunctions apply to Everbright Trading Inc., its owner Yuan Xiang Gao and manager Rong Qing Xu, as well as New York companies Lily Popular Varieties & Gifts Inc., Great Great Corp., and their owners and operators Li Jing and Ch...
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| Trojan Maritime bulk carrier banned from Australian ports |
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Friday, August 04, 2017
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A bulk carrier vessel owned and operated by Greece-based Trojan Maritime has been banned from Australian ports for six months after the ship repeatedly failed to pay outstanding wages and maintain a safe workplace for its crew, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). Bahamas-flagged bulk carrier MV Rena will not be allowed to re-enter any Australian port until the first quarter of 2018, according to the authority, which opened a case on June 30, when it rec...
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| Texas man pleads guilty to illegal exports to Russia, China |
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Friday, August 04, 2017
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Peter Zuccarelli, 62, of Plano, Texas, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally export U.S.-made radiation hardened integrated circuits (RHICs) to China and Russia for their respective space programs, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice. Zuccarelli attempted to secure the circuits for export without the required Commerce Department licenses, a violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). According to court docum...
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| Australia fines NYK $25m for cartel behavior |
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Thursday, August 03, 2017
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Photo: Alexey Lesik Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK Line) has been fined $25m for engaging in cartel behavior in Australia between 2009 and 2012. The Australian Federal Court has ordered ocean carrier Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) to pay a $25 million fine due to cartel behavior, according to a report from shipping industry news outlet TradeWinds . The ocean carrier engaged in the transportation of vehicles to Australia between 2009 and 2012. Furthermore, the court found t...
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| Crowley overcomes legal challenge to $2b DoD logistics contract |
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Thursday, July 27, 2017
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A subsidiary of Crowley Maritime Corp. has been awarded one of the largest transport contracts awarded by the U.S. government after overcoming a legal challenge by rival third-party provider XPO Logistics. On July 26, Crowley Logistics confirmed that it has been awarded a multi-year contract to provide transportation and related services supporting U.S. Department of Defense activities in the U.S. and Canada by the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), a command of the DoD. &...
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| FTC probes Amazon pricing practices |
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Wednesday, July 26, 2017
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is looking into allegations that Amazon “misleads customers about its pricing discounts,” according a report from Reuters news service. The allegations were brought forward by advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, which looked at over 1,000 products on Amazon’s website in June and found that Amazon put references prices, or list prices, on 46 percent of them. According to its findings, 61 percent of the reference prices were higher than...
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| Despite lawsuits, DryShips announces 5th reverse stock split this year |
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Thursday, July 20, 2017
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Athens, Greece-based dry bulk shipping company DryShips Inc.'s board of directors has determined to effect a 1-for-7 reverse stock split of the company’s issued common shares, according to a statement from the firm, shares of which have been on a roller-coaster ride for the last few months. The news comes as the company is being investigated for securities fraud and is facing multiple class-action lawsuits. The reverse stock split will take effect as of the opening...
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| ‘Patent troll’ Shipping and Transit LLC ordered to pay litigation fees |
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Wednesday, July 19, 2017
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Shipping and Transit LLC, a Florida-based company that has filed litigation in hundreds of cases over more than a decade where it claims to have invented a method of tracking packages as well as the vehicles in which they’re delivered, has been ordered by federal judges in two separate cases to pay litigation fees to lawsuit defendants. In the most recent case, which was ruled on July 10, Shipping and Transit LLC had filed a patent infringement lawsuit against lensdiscounters.c...
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| Grounded tanker leaking oil near Mexico coast |
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Friday, July 14, 2017
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A bulk ship grounded at Punta Graham, Mexico in 2015 has been found to be leaking oil, according to local authorities. An inspection by authorities from Mexico's environmental agency Profepa has found evidence that the vessel Los Llanitos is leaking oil, despite reports that all petroleum products were removed from the ship in 2016. The vessel ran aground in October 2015 during Hurricane Patricia and sustained severe structural damage. The vessel was subsequently in...
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| The Netherlands investigates possible price-fixing by port bunker firms |
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Thursday, July 13, 2017
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The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has launched an investigation into possible cartel behavior in the bunker sector and has already conducted several dawn raids, the federal agency said Wednesday. The investigation involves companies that are active in the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp. Several companies may have concluded illegal price-fixing agreements, ACM said, without publicly identifying what companies are under investigation or have bee...
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| Shippers' Law: U.S. government settles with Agility |
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Wednesday, July 05, 2017
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Agility Public Warehousing Co. K.S.C. (Agility) reached a final settlement in May with the United States government, resolving criminal, civil and administrative cases arising from allegations that it overcharged the U.S. when performing contracts with the Department of Defense (DOD) to supply food for U.S. military troops from 2003 to 2010. The contracts involved nearly 200,000 invoices to the U.S. government, and were valued at over $8.6 billion, Agility said in a statement. &...
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