Filing Carrier / MTO Agreements

All agreements (including oral agreements reduced to writing) by or among vessel operating common carriers or among marine terminal operators must be filed with Office of the Secretary, Federal Maritime Commission, Washington, DC 20573, during regular business hours and consist of the following pursuant to §535.401.

1. A true copy of the agreement
2. Seven (7) additional copies of the agreement
3. Where required, an original and 5 copies of the completed Information Form
4. A letter of transmittal describing the agreement filing and any other documents being filed
5. Be accompanied by the appropriate filing fee

With the exception of marine terminal facilities agreements, a notice of any filed agreement which is not rejected for failure to comply with the filing and Information Form requirements [§535.601] will be transmitted to the Federal Register within seven (7) days of the date filed with the Commission.  Interested persons may file with the Secretary written comments regarding a filed agreement [§535.603].

The Commission’s Bureau of Trade Analysis maintains a copy of each agreement on file with the Commission.  Agreements may be reviewed in person by visiting the Bureau of Trade Analysis, or by requesting copies of particular agreements directly from the Bureau.  The Bureau also makes available on diskette an agreement report Carrier Agreements in the U.S. Oceanborne Trades.  This document contains a listing of carrier agreements operating in the U.S. foreign trades in accordance with the Shipping Act.  Agreements are listed by several categories including agreement type, geographic scope, agreement authority, and membership.