Pacific Coast European Conference and Its Member Lines v. Federal Maritime Commission and United States of America

The Pacific Coast European Conference (PCEC) petitions for relief from a cease- and-desist order of the Federal Maritime Commission entered under the Commission’s statutory authority to regulate transportation rates.

The controversy arises out of the sale of cotton in 1972 to a purchaser in Spain. Spanish law apparently required the purchaser to ship the cotton on Spanish vessels. The exporters accordingly sold the cotton f. o. b. a Pacific port and title passed to the purchaser who then caused the cargo to be shipped on a Spanish carrier.

The PCEC is a shipping “conference”. A “conference” of water carriers is a voluntary cartel regulated by the Commission, and because of that regulation § 814 (1970).

One of the significant advantages of membership in a conference is the “dual-rate contract”. This type of contract, between a conference and a shipper, provides a preferential rate (up to a 15% discount from standard rates) to shippers who agree to give…