The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) on Monday rejected the “Port of New York/New Jersey Equipment Optimization Discussion Agreement” (FMC Agreement No. 012445) for failing to meet the clear and definite disclosure standard required by law.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) and the Ocean Carriers Equipment Management Association Agreement (OCEMA) jointly applied on November 30, 2016 to establish this discussion agreement.

The agreement would have authorized the Port Authority and OCEMA to collect and exchange

information, discuss, and reach agreements on matters relating to cargo throughput, safety, intermodal equipment supply and efficiencies, congestion relief, port and terminal infrastructure, financing of improvements, and clean air or other environmental initiatives affecting operations in and around the Port of New York and New Jersey.

This was not the first application by these filing parties seeking permission to establish a discussion agreement at the Port of New York and New Jersey. On June 23, 2016, the Commission received Agreement No. 012420, and subsequently issued a Request for Additional Information on August 4, 2016. The filing parties chose to withdraw Agreement No. 012420 on August 10, 2016. Many of the issues the commission identified in August were left unaddressed and unresolved in the filing made in November, and rejected by the commission this week.

“Today’s rejection of the ‘Port of New York/New Jersey Equipment Optimization Discussion Agreement’ should not be viewed by port management or carrier executives of companies doing business at the port as the commission being opposed to the establishment of a discussion agreement,” said FMC chair Mario Cordero. “I am amenable to meeting with the PANYNJ management team and OCEMA to discuss the commission’s concerns with the previous filings, as well as to explore how to create a narrowly tailored agreement that delivers specific efficiencies.”

The Federal Maritime Commission is the U.S. federal agency responsible for regulating international ocean transportation.