An agreement between two marine terminal companies located at the Port of Miami went into force on December 31, 2016, permitting those parties to seek cooperation and commonality in both business and operating matters.

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) voted last week not to prevent the Miami Marine Terminal Conference Agreement from taking effect.

The South Florida Container Terminal and the Port of Miami Terminal Operating Company filed their agreement on November 16, 2016. Under the terms of their agreement, the companies may establish a variety of common rates, rules, and practices as well as to meet to discuss these matters.

“These two facilities are located in very close proximity to one another,” stated Federal Maritime Commission Chairman Mario Cordero, “and allowing the entities that operate them the ability to communicate on a number of different topics creates an opportunity to achieve efficiencies that potentially can benefit both the Port of Miami and the shipping public more broadly.”

While discussion agreements among ocean carriers are commonly filed at the FMC, agreements between terminal operating companies have been less common to date.

“We are always interested in receiving well-crafted proposals that seek discussion agreement authority that is narrowly tailored to achieve efficiencies,” said Cordero.

The Federal Maritime Commission is responsible for regulating U.S. international ocean transportation for the benefit of exporters, importers, and consumers. The commission’s mission is to foster a fair, efficient, and reliable international ocean transportation system while protecting the public from unfair and deceptive practices.