Freight Forwarder Not Transparent About D&D Charges, Shipper Tells FMC

Globerunners, a California-based shipper, said Texas-based Hoyer Global may have overcharged it in wharfage fees for a container held for years at a South Korean port. In a complaint this month to the Federal Maritime Commission, Globerunners said Hoyer never provided it with a copy of the detention and demurrage invoice Hoyer was given by the South Korean port. Globerunners believes Hoyer passed along fees higher than what the South Korean port charged.

The FMC should order Hoyer to provide “proof of the actual amount of demurrage, storage and/or wharfage paid to the underlying ocean common carrier” in South Korea, Globerunners said.

Globerunners, a non-vessel-operating common carrier licensed by the FMC, said it first contracted with Hoyer in January 2019 to ship eight tank containers of petroleum products from South Carolina to Busan, South Korea. But “through no fault of Globerunners,” the buyer in Busan couldn't pick up the containers, which remained on the wharf until May 2022, the complaint said.

Hoyer, also a non-vessel-operating common carrier licensed by the FMC, sued Globerunners over the charges, saying the California company was “liable for wharfage that Hoyer had to pay to the port in Busan, and for demurrage,” the complaint said. While Globerunners said it doesn’t dispute that it’s liable for the charges, it said it should have to pay only the amount that Hoyer paid to the port of Busan. But Hoyer “has failed or refused to provide Globerunners with proof of the amounts paid” to the terminal. Hoyer didn't respond to a request for comment.