The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has hit Danish shipping giant Maersk with a massive $1.9 million civil penalty following a detailed investigation into the ocean liner’s unfair detention and demurrage billing practices. The regulatory authority penalized Maersk for consistently violating the US Shipping Act by wrongfully issuing detention charges to shippers and truckers for weekends and holidays when the designated container return terminals were completely closed, making it operationally impossible to return the empty equipment. Alongside paying the heavy financial settlement, Maersk has committed to a comprehensive compliance agreement that includes issuing full refunds or fee waivers to all affected cargo owners, implementing strict automated billing audits, and updating its internal systems to ensure no future invoices are generated for non-working facility days. This landmark enforcement action sends a powerful warning to the entire global liner industry, reinforcing the FMC’s strict commitment to protecting supply chain stakeholders from predatory billing mechanisms and ensuring absolute transparency across US maritime trade infrastructure.