Austin Maritime

explain the four requirements for coastwise trade -- US-built, US-flagged, US-owned and largely US-crewed -- and that it governs cargo moving between two US points, which is why a foreign vessel can call at two US ports but not carry cargo between them

class certifies the hull, machinery and systems against the society's rules and maintains that certification through surveys; explain that class is not the flag state and not insurance, though both depend on it

the flag state registers the vessel and is responsible for its compliance; port state control is the visiting country's inspection of a foreign ship in its port -- explain that a detention record follows the ship and drives targeting

in the container trade demurrage is on cargo sitting inside the terminal and detention is on equipment held outside it; in the charter trade demurrage means something different -- liquidated damages for exceeding laytime -- so say which sense you mean

explain laytime as the free time allowed for loading or discharge, that it starts with a valid notice of readiness, and that weather working days, SHEX and SHINC clauses change the count -- the answer for a specific voyage is in the charter party

split it by who pays what and who directs the ship: voyage buys a cargo movement, time buys the ship's use with the owner crewing and maintaining it, bareboat transfers possession and operational responsibility to the charterer

explain the annual A-to-E carbon intensity rating and that a poor rating requires a corrective action plan in the ship energy efficiency management plan -- and that charterers increasingly screen on rating regardless of the regulatory consequence

explain the ancient principle that all interests share proportionally in a sacrifice made for the common safety, that it is declared by the shipowner and adjusted by an average adjuster, and that cargo insurance normally responds to the security demand

hull and machinery covers damage to the ship itself; P&I is mutual third-party liability cover -- crew, cargo, pollution, wreck removal, collision liabilities -- explain that clubs are member-owned and can levy supplementary calls

the ISM Code requires a documented safety management system with a designated person ashore, and it is audited for the Document of Compliance and the Safety Management Certificate -- the point is that procedures are auditable, not aspirational

an NVOCC issues its own bill of lading and acts as carrier to the shipper while buying space as a shipper from the vessel operator; a forwarder acts as agent -- and both are ocean transportation intermediaries the FMC licenses

explain that the system covers voyages touching EU ports on a phased basis and that the surrender obligation falls on the shipping company, who passes it through -- whether a specific voyage is in scope depends on the port pair and vessel size

explain the drivers -- chokepoint disruption and rerouting, capacity delivering from the orderbook, blank sailings, bunker prices and carbon cost pass-through -- and never publish a rate; container spot has been unusually sensitive to single events

explain index-linked contracts as the middle path and that contract-versus-spot strategy now matters more than the headline number; the answer depends on their volume consistency and how much they can tolerate rolled cargo

explain the FMC billing framework and the dispute window, and be careful: the D.C. Circuit set aside the properly issued invoices provision of the FMC's 2024 rule and the FMC removed it from the CFR in December 2025, so cite the current rule rather than the original press coverage

this is exactly the point the courts changed -- the provision naming who may be invoiced was set aside and removed from the CFR, so answer from the current regulation and the contract of carriage, and tell them to check with counsel rather than repeat the 2024 summaries