After a period of preparation and submission of documents required by the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), ASL Logistics' application for an intermediary transporter license has been officially accepted with registration number: 030561-001.

ASL US office has been licensed by FMC for many years. By February 2022, ASL Logistics continued to successfully register FMC for ASL Vietnam – becoming an intermediary transporter in Vietnam for the North American trade route and under the control of the US Federal Maritime Commission for the offer of sea freight.

The successful FMC registration is an affirmation of ASL Logistics' quality services to the US, showing that ASL Logistics is capable of signing service contracts directly with shipping lines as well as issuing sea bill of lading (HB/L) for North American routes, and also an important proof of ASL's good reputation and financial potential. Currently, the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission only approves foreign NVOCC registrations when they demonstrate financial guarantees of up to $150,000.

The successful registration of FMC is a significant effort of the company's management because to obtain this license, meeting the large margin level and building a tariff is the most difficult part to be approved by FMC.

An FMC license is a mandatory requirement when providing U.S. transportation services, but not all businesses can do it. Currently, there are less than 100 Vietnamese enterprises with FMC licenses registered for transportation services to the US. A small number compared to several thousand forwarders in Vietnam

To understand more about FMC and the influence of FMC in the import and export cargoes to and from the US market, please refer to the information: What is FMC? FMC license role and classification.

FMC LICENSE

FMC License is an FMC regulation applied from May 1999 to the present by FMC, specifying that cargo businesses must obtain a license (LICENSE) as an Oti (Ocean Transportation Intermediary) before starting operations. This regulation applies to both exports and imports. FMC issues 3 types of licenses for OTI as follows:

- OTI-NVOCC: Holders of this license can issue HBL (selling price) as an "As Carrier" carrier for their shipments to or from the U.S. All charges and charges applicable on the HBL for both export and import must be stated in an FMC tariff (FMC tariff). NVOCC may sign a service contact contract with shipping lines. The only thing an NVOCC doesn't swear to do is charge a commission from the shipping line as an agent's ocean carrier. This is one of the most common forms. To obtain this license requires a bond of USD 75,000 and an additional USD 10000 for each branch.

- OTI-Ocean Freight Forwarder: This license holder can act as a forwarding company in the U.S. or as an agent of NVOCC, which owns FMC bonds and has its own tariff. They cannot issue a bill of lading as a carrier and issue invoices equal to the price offered by the carrier (not markup). The profit of ocean freight forwarders is only the commission that the carrier or NVOCC pays them and cannot sign a service contact contract with a shipping line such as NVOCC. To obtain this license requires a bond of $50,000 and USD 10,000 per branch.

- OTI-NF: This license holder has the function of the above two types of licenses and must make two guarantee signings as required. Retail service providers (Master Consol) use this license in their operations.

For a non-U.S. forwarding company to operate goods to or from the U.S., they need to register as an NVOCC with an FMC with a tariff, bond, and they will issue a bill of lading for shipments. NVOCC outside the U.S. may enter into service contact contracts with shipping lines to provide transportation services to the U.S. The fiduciary margin for this type is USD 150,000. Note that the time it takes to bond and signs up for FMC will usually take about 2 months.

- NVOCC Tariff: When the company is approved by FMC and licensed as OTI-NVOCC, it is required to develop a price list stating the terms of the freight, price, and fees that will apply on its secondary bill of lading (HBL). This price list is issued and maintained by FMC regulations. This requirement must be made immediately upon obtaining a license even without providing services to the customer.

To learn more about ASL Logistics' U.S. freight service, click here

ASL Logistics hopes that the article will help customers understand the FMC license regulations for our freight. For any questions, please contact +84-28 3512 9759 or the company's website https://www.asl-corp.com.vn/ for answers. Thank you very much!