The case of Port of Boston Marine Terminal Association et al. v. Rederiaktiebolaget Transatlantic, 1970, revolved around the issue of whether a port authority could charge fees to ships for services that they did not use or need. The Swedish shipping company Rederiaktiebolaget Transatlantic had been charged by the Port of Boston Marine Terminal Association for various services such as garbage disposal and fire protection even though these were not used by the ship during its time in port. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the shipping company stating that under federal maritime law, a vessel cannot be charged for services it does not request or use while at dock unless there is an agreement between both parties involved.

In the dissenting opinion for Port of Boston Marine Terminal Assn. et al. v. Rederiaktiebolaget Transatlantic, Justice Harlan disagreed with the majority's interpretation of Section 4(5) of the Federal Maritime Commission Act and its application to this case. He argued that Congress intended to protect shippers from unreasonable practices by carriers and terminal operators, not to regulate relationships between terminal operators and carriers themselves as business entities. According to him, there was no evidence that Congress meant for Section 4(5) to apply in situations where a carrier is also a terminal operator or has an exclusive agreement with one - such as in this case where Swedish East Asiatic Co., acting both as carrier and operator through an affiliate company, had preferential access over other shipping lines at their own terminals in Boston Harbor.