Shipping lines impose 'S/R handling cost'

As shipping companies serving in North American trades have so far covered filing Shipping Requests (S/R) and correcting errors on Bills of Lading in place of shippers and forwarding companies according to the ?4 Hour Advance Vessel Manifest rule? they have since decided to introduce surcharges for performing those duties.
The Korea Int'l Freight Forwarders Association disclosed that while US Customs enforced the Container Security Initiative as of Feb. 2, all shipping companies in South Korea followed the new set of rules and have decided to levy surcharges for filing S/Rs 24 hrs before loading and for correcting B/Ls starting March 15.
The surcharge will be 25 dollars per filing of B/L such as Master B/L and House B/L. Forty dollars will be required per error correction on the B/L except for the pre-existing 14 requisite items.
An insider at KIFFA said that though forwarders had expected the surcharges to cover S/R filings and error corrections on the B/L, it would still be a burden for forwarders with such a high costs of operation. However, they will cooperate with the Korea Shippers' Council to reduce operational costs against shipping companies, he added.