Code of Federal Regulations Title 46. Shipping § 46.530.8 Service Contracts

(1) Authorized persons shall file with BTA, in the manner set forth in appendix A of this part, a true and complete copy of every service contract and every amendment to a service contract no later than thirty (30) days after the effective date.

(2) Failure to file a service contract or amendment in accordance with paragraph (a)(1) of this section does not affect the applicability of the service contract or amendment to cargo received on or after the effective date by the ocean common carrier or its agent.

(1) The origin port ranges in the case of port-to-port movements and geographic areas in the case of through intermodal movements;

(2) The destination port ranges in the case of port-to-port movements and geographic areas in the case of through intermodal movements;

(3) The commodity or commodities involved;

(4) The minimum volume or portion;

(5) The service commitments;

(6) The line-haul rate;

(7) Liquidated damages for non-performance (if any);

(8) Duration, including the

(9) The legal names and business addresses of the contract parties;  the legal names of affiliates entitled to access the contract;  the names, titles and addresses of the representatives signing the contract for the parties;  and the date upon which the service contract was signed, except that in the case of a contract entered under the authority of an agreement or by a shippers' association, individual members need not be named unless the contract includes or excludes specific members. Subsequent references in the contract to the contract parties shall be consistent with the first reference (e.g., (exact name), “carrier,” “shipper,” or “association,” etc.). Carrier parties which enter into contracts that include affiliates must either:

(10) A certification of shipper status;

(11) A description of the shipment records which will be maintained to support the service contract and the address, telephone number, and title of the person who will respond to a request by making shipment records available to the Commission for inspection under § 530.15 of this part;  and

(12) All other provisions of the contract.

(1) Be uncertain, vague or ambiguous;  or

(2) Make reference to terms not explicitly contained in the service contract itself unless those terms are readily available to the parties and the Commission.

(3) Pursuant to § 530.15(c), the carrier party to the service contract must, upon written request by the Commission, provide the Commission with the associated records of the referenced terms. For the purpose of paragraph (c)(2) of this section, the referenced terms will be deemed readily available to the Commission if the carrier party to the service contract provides the Commission with the associated records of the terms within thirty (30) days of the Commission's written request.

(1) A unique service contract number of more than one (1) but less than ten (10) alphanumeric characters in length (“SC Number”);  and

(2) A consecutively numbered amendment number no more than three digits in length, with initial service contracts using “0”(“Amendment number”);

(3) The filed FMC Agreement Number(s) assigned by the Commission under 46 CFR part 535 (if applicable);  and