Renewal of Agency Information Collections of Previously Approved Collections; VOCC and MTO Agreements; 3072-0045; 60-Day Public Comment Request

Issuing agencies

Abstract

As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal Maritime Commission (Commission or FMC) invites comments on the continuing information collections related to ocean common carrier and marine terminal operator agreements and related forms, FMC-150 and FMC-151. This notice announces a renewal of an existing collection and includes updates to the collection based on the increase in number of responses and burden hours for respondents; the transition from use of the Monitoring Report Form (FMC-151) to individualized reporting requirements under the Periodic Reporting Requirements provision; monthly submissions of the global vessel sharing agreements; and a new electronic platform to submit agreement filings, required reports, and other agreement-related collections electronically.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 198 (Thursday, October 15, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 198 (Thursday, October 15, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65554-65556]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-21086]


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FEDERAL MARITIME COMMISSION

[FMC-2026-0430]


Renewal of Agency Information Collections of Previously Approved 
Collections; VOCC and MTO Agreements; 3072-0045; 60-Day Public Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Federal Maritime Commission.

ACTION: Sixty-day notice; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of our continuing effort to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burden, and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995, the Federal Maritime Commission (Commission or FMC) invites 
comments on the continuing information collections related to ocean 
common carrier and marine terminal operator agreements and related 
forms, FMC-150 and FMC-151. This notice announces a renewal of an 
existing collection and includes updates to the collection based on the 
increase in number of responses and burden hours for respondents; the 
transition from use of the Monitoring Report Form (FMC-151) to 
individualized reporting requirements under the Periodic Reporting 
Requirements provision; monthly submissions of the global vessel 
sharing agreements; and a new electronic platform to submit agreement 
filings, required reports, and other agreement-related collections 
electronically.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before December 14, 2026.

ADDRESSES: The Commission is accepting comments using the Federal 
eRulemaking Portal at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. The docket for this notice, 
which includes copies of applicable forms and submitted comments, can 
be found at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> under FMC-2026-0430. Follow the 
instructions provided for submitting comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephanie Rice, (202) 794-1067, <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f98a8b909a9cd491988b8d8c979eb99f949ad79e968f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fe8d8c979d9bd3969f8c8a8b9099be98939dd0999188">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission invites the general public 
and other Federal agencies to comment on any aspect of the continuing 
information collection listed in this notice, as required by the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). We are 
particularly interested in receiving comments on: (1) the necessity and 
utility of the proposed information collection for the proper 
performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the 
estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology to 
minimize the information collection burden.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be included or 
summarized in our request for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
approval of the relevant information collection. All comments are part 
of the public record and subject to disclosure. Please do not include 
any confidential or inappropriate material in your comments.

Information Collections Open for Comment

    Title: 46 CFR part 535--Ocean Common Carrier and Marine Terminal 
Operator Agreements and Related Forms (FMC-150 and FMC-151).
    OMB Control Number: 3072-0045 (Expires January 31, 2027).
    Form Numbers: FMC-150, FMC-151.

[[Page 65555]]

    Abstract: The Commission administers subtitle IV of title 46 of the 
United States Code (the Shipping Act or the Act). 46 U.S.C. 40301 (a)-
(c), identifies certain agreements by or among ocean common carriers 
(carriers) and marine terminal operators (MTOs) that fall within the 
jurisdiction of that Act. Section 5 of the Act, 46 U.S.C. 40302, 
requires that carriers and MTOs file those agreements with the Federal 
Maritime Commission. Section 6 of the Act, 46 U.S.C. 40304, 40306, and 
41307 (b)-(d), specifies the Commission actions that may be taken with 
respect to filed agreements, including requiring the submission of 
additional information. Section 40104 authorizes the Commission to 
require that carriers and MTOs, among other persons, file periodic or 
special reports. Requests for periodic or special reports are meant to 
assist the Commission in fulfilling its statutory mandate of overseeing 
the activities of the ocean transportation industry. These reports are 
necessary so that the Commission can monitor agreement parties' 
activities to determine how or if their activities will have an impact 
on competition.
    Type of Review: Extension with change.
    Current Actions: The estimated number of responses and burden hours 
for the collection have increased due to a number of factors. The 
biggest change is attributed to the transition from use of the 
Monitoring Report Form (FMC-151) to individualized reporting 
requirements under the Periodic Reporting Requirements provision of 46 
CFR 535.701(d). Global vessel sharing agreements, which are now 
monitored under Alternative Period Reporting under 46 CFR 535.703(d), 
are required to submit monitoring data monthly. The Commission has 
increased its monitoring activities for MTO agreements. The FMC has 
reduced the estimated time to complete the Information Form (FMC-150) 
from 75 hours to 3 hours. The FMC has also now added to the burden 
estimate the time it takes to file Voluntary Guidelines for service 
contracts with the Commission. It is unclear why this activity was 
previously excluded from the burden calculation. Agreement filings, 
required reports, other agreement-related collections and Forms FMC-150 
and FMC-151 have been included with the agency's modernization 
initiative and will be included within the ServiceNow platform.
    Needs and Uses: The Commission uses the information filed by 
agreement parties to monitor their activities as required by the 
Shipping Act. Under 46 U.S.C. 41307, the Commission must determine 
whether an agreement will result, or has resulted, in a substantial 
reduction in competition within the prevailing market leading to an 
unreasonable reduction in transportation service or an unreasonable 
increase in transportation costs, or ``substantially lessen[s] 
competition in the purchasing of certain covered services.'' In such 
cases, the Commission would take action to seek to enjoin the agreement 
in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
    Frequency: This information will be collected as required by the 
regulations at Part 535.
    Type of Respondents: The types of respondents are marine terminal 
operators, vessel-operating common carriers, and other parties to FMC-
filed agreements.
    Number of Annual Respondents: It is estimated that the number of 
annual respondents will be 4,365.
    Estimated Time per Response:
    Responses associated with Agreement filings under Part 535:
    <bullet> The average time per response to file an Agreement that 
includes Form FMC-150 is 75 hours.
    <bullet> The average time per response to file an Agreement that 
does not include Form FMC-150 is 1 hour.
    <bullet> The time to file an Agreement termination averages 0.25 
hours.
    Responses associated with Monitoring Requirements under Part 535:
    <bullet> The average time per response to file meeting minutes is 2 
hours.
    <bullet> The average time per response to file meeting minutes for 
Alternative Periodic Reporting is 2 hours.
    <bullet> The average time per response to file MTO meeting minutes 
is 2 hours.
    <bullet> The average time per response to file an Alliance 
Agreement that includes Form FMC-151 is 160 hours.
    <bullet> The average time per response to file a VOCC Rate 
Discussion Agreement that includes Form FMC-151 is 50 hours.
    <bullet> The average time per response to file an Agreement other 
than a Global Vessel Sharing or VOCC Rate Discussion Agreement is 10 
hours.
    <bullet> The average time per response to file a Global Vessel 
Sharing Agreement is 160 hours.
    <bullet> The average time per response to file an Alternative 
Periodic Reporting, VOCC Rate Discussion Agreement is 50 hours.
    <bullet> The average time per response to file an Alternative 
Periodic Reporting other than a Global Vessel Sharing or VOCC Rate 
Discussion Agreement is 10 hours.
    <bullet> The average time per response for filing a Marine Terminal 
Operators Monitoring Report is 160 hours.
    Responses associated with Service Contracts, Voluntary Guidelines 
under Part 535:
    <bullet> The average time per response for filing Service 
Contracts, Voluntary Guidelines is 0.25 hours.
    Responses associated with Recordkeeping under Part 535:
    <bullet> Recordkeeping for minutes filing and alternative periodic 
reporting is estimated at 0.25 hours.
    Total Annual Burden: The Commission estimates the total person-hour 
burden at 22,347.25 hours, as detailed below.
    Responses associated with Agreement filings under Part 535:
    <bullet> Filing an Agreement that includes Form FMC-150: 10 x 75 
hours = 750 person-hours.
    <bullet> Filing an Agreement that does not require FMC-150: 50 x 1 
hour = 50 person-hours.
    <bullet> Termination of Agreements: 23 x 0.25 hours = 5.75 person-
hours.
    Responses associated with Monitoring Requirements under Part 535:
    <bullet> Reporting on FMC-151 (filed by Alliance parties): 0 x 160 
hours = 0 person-hours.
    <bullet> Reporting for VOCC Rate Discussion Agreements: 0 x 50 
hours = 0 person-hours.
    <bullet> Reporting for other than Alliance or VOCC Rate Discussion 
Agreements: 0 x 10 hours = 0 person-hours.
    <bullet> Reporting for Alternative Periodic Reporting--Global 
Vessel Sharing agreements: 60 x 160 hours = 9,600 person-hours.
    <bullet> Reporting for Alternative Periodic Reporting--VOCC Rate 
Discussion Agreements: 32 x 50 hours = 1,600 person-hours.
    <bullet> Reporting for Alternative Periodic Reporting--other than 
Global Vessel Sharing or VOCC Rate Discussion Agreement: 300 x 10 hours 
= 3,000 person-hours.
    <bullet> Reporting for Alternative Periodic Reporting--Marine 
Terminal Operators Monitoring Report: 12 x 160 hours = 1,920 person-
hours.
    <bullet> Filing meeting minutes: 0 x 2 hours = 0 person-hours.
    <bullet> Filing meeting minutes--Alternative Periodic Reporting: 
2,340 x 2 hours = 4,680 person-hours.
    <bullet> Filing meeting minutes--MTOs: 204 x 2 hours = 408 person-
hours.
    Responses associated with Service Contracts, Voluntary Guidelines 
under Part 535:
    <bullet> Reporting Service Contracts: 34 x 0.25 hours = 8.5 person-
hours.
    Responses associated with Recordkeeping under Part 535:

[[Page 65556]]

    <bullet> Recordkeeping for optionally filed agreements = 1,300 x 
0.25 hours = 325 person-hours.

    For the Commission.
David Eng,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-21086 Filed 10-14-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6730-02-P


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