OCR Text |
Show commodity, except water and except natural or artificial gas, by pipeline, or partly by pipeline and partly by rail- road or by water." These provisions were superseded in 1940 by section 303 (a). Private Carriers.-The Interstate Commerce Act con- tains no provisions for any restrictions on private water carriers. Some of the other conditional or qualified exemptions are: Sec. 302 (e). Conditional exemption of contract car- riers furnishing equipment for use by private carriers.- The term "contract carrier by water" means any person which, under individual contracts or agreements, engages in the transportation (other than transportation referred to in paragraph (d) and the exception therein) by water of passengers or property in interstate or foreign com- merce for compensation. The furnishing for compensa- tion (under a charter, lease, or other agreement) of a vessel, to a person other than a carrier subject to this Act, to be used by the person to whom such vessel is furnished in the transportation of its own property, shall be considered to constitute, as to the vessel so furnished, engaging in transportation for compensation by the per- son furnishing such vessel, within the meaning of the foregoing definition of "contract carrier by water". Whenever the Commission, upon its own motion or upon application of any interested party, determines that the application of the preceding sentence to any person or class of persons is not necessary in order to effectuate the national transportation policy declared in this Act, it shall by order exempt such person or class of persons from the provisions of this Part for such period of time as may be specified in such order. The Commission may by order revoke any such exemption whenever it shall find that the application of such sentence to the exempted per- son or class of persons is necessary in order to effectuate such national transportation policy. No such exemption shall be denied or revoked except after reasonable oppor- tunity for hearing. Sec. 303 (e). Conditional exemption of noncompetitive transportation by contract carriers.-It is hereby declared to be the policy of Congress to exclude from the provisions of this Part, in addition to the transportation otherwise excluded under this Section, transportation by contract carriers by water which, by reason of the inherent nature of the commodities transported, their requirement of spe- cial equipment, or their shipment in bulk, is not actually and substantially competitive with transportation by any common carrier subject to this Part or Part I or Part II. Upon application of a carrier, made in such manner and form, the Commission may by regulations prescribe, the Commission shall, subject to such reasonable conditions and limitations as the Commission may prescribe, by order exempt from the provisions of this Part such of the trans- portation engaged in by such carrier as it finds necessary to carry out the policy above declared. Contractor's equipment is not readily susceptible of handling by common carriers by rail, truck, or water, and transportation thereof is not substantially competitive with transportation by such carriers. Movement of all types of contractors' equipment used in construction work on the Mississippi River and its tributaries and at points along such waterways, exempted (Warner and Tamble, 265 I. C. C. 147 (151)). Sec. 303 (g) (2). Exemption of small craft.-Except to the extent that the Commission shall from time to time find, and by order declare, that such application is nec- essary to carry out the national transportation policy declared in this act, the provisions of this part shall not apply * * * or (2) to transportation by small craft of not more than one hundred tons carrying capacity or not more than one hundred indicated horsepower, or to vessels carrying passengers only and equipped to carry no more than sixteen passengers. * * * Such sizable gaps in legal jurisdiction as represented by the above and other exemptions raise a serious ques- tion as to the practicability of Government regulation in the field of domestic water transportation. Federal regulatory policy as reflected in part III of the Interstate Commerce Act and administration thereof by the ICC with respect to entry into and expansion of business conditions of service, for water carriers subject to ICC jurisdiction.-The Transportation Act of 1940 transferred to the Interstate Commerce Commission the jurisdiction over domestic water transportation formerly vested in the United States Maritime Commission under the Shipping Act, 1916, and the Intercoastal Shipping Act, 1933, both as amended, and in addition provided for more comprehensive controls by the Interstate Com- merce Commission over water carriers upon the inland waterways. One important new control was the require- ment that common and contract carriers by water, under the Commission's jurisdiction (except as otherwise pro- vided) obtain either an operating certificate or a permit as a prerequisite to conducting interstate services. The holding of both a certificate for common-carrier service and a permit for contract service by the same party or controlling interest is discouraged by requiring specific approval of the Commission and a finding of consistency with the public interest and the national transportation policy. To enable the provision of service for which there is an immediate and urgent need to a point or points or within a territory having no carrier service capable of meeting such need, the Commission, may, at its discre- tion, and without hearings or other proceedings, grant temporary authority for such service by a common carrier by water or a contract carrier by water, as the case may be. Such temporary authority shall be valid for such time as the Commission shall specify, and shall not create a presumption that corresponding permanent authority will be granted thereafter. Except as otherwise provided, any certificate or permit may be transferred in accordance with such regulations as the Commission may prescribe for the protection of the public interest, and to insure compliance with the pro- visions of part III of the act. The specification of the operating authority of common and contract water carriers under the Transportation Act of 1940 has brought into existence many types of regulatory restrictions upon water carrier operations in interstate commerce which did not exist prior to these enactments, such as restrictions on the commodities they may carry, the routes or territories they may serve, or the types of service they may render. Such restrictions have led to avoidable waste. For-hire carriers desiring to render service in interstate commerce by domestic water transportation, prior to the enactment of this act, were wholly free to select the area for their operations and the character of their service. Common carriers had only to observe the traditional obligations of the common law with respect to standards of service, liability for shipments, and reasonable rates. Water carriers were free to develop their service in any part of the country where suitable waterways existed and to serve any points in the selected 435 |