Regulations Governing Service Contracts
Confidential service contracts are filed through SERVCON, the Commission’s automated service contract filing system.
What is a Service Contract?
Service contracts are between a shipper and an ocean common carrier or an ocean common carrier agreement in which the shipper commits to provide a certain minimum quantity of cargo over a fixed period of time and the ocean common carrier or the ocean common carrier agreement commits to a certain rate or rate schedule and a defined level of service.
Service contracts and their related amendments and notices must be filed confidentially with the FMC. The Commission monitors service contract filings for acts prohibited by the Shipping Act of 1984. Original signed service contracts, amendments, and associated records must be maintained for five years from the termination of the contract and be made available to the Commission for audit upon request.
How to File Service Contracts
- All service contracts must be filed through SERVCON
- SERVCON is the Commission’s automated filing system
- VOCCs must register for an account with SERVCON to begin using the system
- VOCCs filing service contracts should complete and submit Form FMC-83 [PDF, 146 KB]
Automated Web Service With SERVCON
The FMC has developed a web service that VOCCs can use to incorporate the filing of service contracts into their own contract management systems (CMS). This web service eliminates the need for separate entry of data into SERVCON by automating the submission of contract data from the filer’s CMS.
Using the web service will reduce the amount of time needed to file with the FMC and will reduce the occurrences of typographical errors in submissions by removing the need for double-entry of contract data in the CMS and SERVCON.
For more information on implementing the SERVCON web service, please contact tradeanalysis@fmc.gov.