Federal Maritime Commission
Agency overview
FormedAugust 12, 1961
JurisdictionFederal government of the United States
HeadquartersWashington, DC, US
Agency executive
Websitehttps://www.fmc.gov/

The United States Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is an independent agency of the United States government that is responsible for the regulation of oceanborne international transportation of the U.S.[1] It is chaired by Daniel B. Maffei.[2]

History

The FMC was established as an independent regulatory agency by Reorganization Plan No. 7, effective August 12, 1961. Prior to that time, the United States Federal Maritime Board was responsible for both the regulation of ocean commerce and the promotion of the United States Merchant Marine. Under the reorganization plan, the shipping laws of the U.S. were separated into two categories, regulatory and promotional. The newly created FMC was charged with the administration of the regulatory provisions of the shipping laws, while the promotional role was vested in the Maritime Administration (now part of the U.S. Department of Transportation).[3]

The passage of the Shipping Act of 1984 brought about a major deregulatory change in the regulatory regime facing shipping companies operating in the U.S. foreign commerce. The subsequent passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998, with its further deregulatory amendments and modifications to the Shipping Act of 1984, represented another pro-market shift in shipping regulation. The principle statutes or statutory provisions administered by the Commission are: the Shipping Act of 1984, the Foreign Shipping Practices Act of 1988, section 19 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1920, and Public Law 89-777.

Most of these statutes were amended by the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA) of 1998,[4] which took effect on May 1, 1999 and the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022.[5][6]

Organization

Current commissioners

List of commissioners:[7]

Bureaus and offices

List of bureaus and offices:[8]

  • Office of Equal Employment Opportunity
  • Office of the Inspector General
  • Office of the Administrative Law Judges
  • Office of Consumer Affairs and Dispute Resolution Services
  • Office of the General Counsel
  • Office of The Secretary
  • Office of the Managing Director
    • Office of Budget and Finance
    • Office of Human Resources
    • Office of Information Technology
    • Office of Management Services
  • Bureau of Enforcement
  • Bureau of Certification and Licensing
  • Bureau of Trade Analysis
  • Area Representatives

Regulations of the FMC

Regulations of the FMC are found at 46 C.F.R. Chapter IV.

Regulations concerning Ocean Transport Intermediaries

Definitions

The FMC regulations regulate the activities of Ocean Transport Intermediaries (OTIs) in the US. The FMC regulations define OTI to include two classes of logistics service providers: (1) ocean freight forwarders and (2) non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs).[9]

The FMC regulations define "ocean freight forwarder" as a person that (i) in the United States, dispatches shipments from the United States via a common carrier and books or otherwise arranges space for those shipments on behalf of shippers and (ii) processes the documentation or performs related activities incident to those shipments.[10]

The FMC regulations define "NVOCC" as a common carrier that does not operate the vessels by which the ocean transportation is provided, and is a shipper in its relationship with an ocean common carrier.[11]

Licensing requirements

OTIs must be licensed by the FMC before they perform OTI services in the United States.[12] Requirements for licensing are found at 46 CFR §§ 515.11-515.27.

Duties

The FMC regulations define duties with which OTIs must comply at 46 CFR §§ 515.31-515.34.

Fees and compensation

The FMC regulations set out certain rules regarding fees that freight forwarders may charge to their customers and compensation that freight forwarders may receive from carriers at 46 CFR §§ 515.41-515.91.

List of commissioners

Portrait Commissioner[13] Took office Left office
John Harllee August 1961 June 1969
Ashton C. Barrett February 1962 June 1977
Thomas E. Stakem February 1962 June 1963
James V. Day February 1962 June 1984
John S. Patterson February 1962 September 1966
George H. Hearn July 1964 June 1978
James F. Fanseen March 1967 June 1971
Helen Delich Bentley June 1970 June 1975
Clarence G. Morse October 1971 June 1976
Karl E. Bakke November 1975 June 1977
Robert R. Casey January 1976 September 1977
Richard J. Daschbach August 1977 October 1982
Thomas F. Moakley October 1977 October 1988
Leslie Kanuk June 1978 June 1981
Peter N. Teige June 1980 September 1981
Alan Green Jr. June 1981 June 1985
James J. Carey October 1981 June 1990
Robert Setrakian May 1983 August 1985
Edward J. Philbin March 1985 December 1989
Frank Ivancie November 1985 June 1992
Edward Hickey Jr. November 1985 January 1988
Elaine Chao April 29, 1988 April 19, 1989
William Hathaway February 8, 1990 November 11, 1999
Rob Quartel April 1990 June 1994
Ming C. Hsu June 1990 December 1999
Chris Koch October 1990 March 1994
Joe Scroggins Jr. June 1994 June 2000
Delmond J. H. Won August 1994 August 2003
Harold J. Creel Jr. August 17, 1994 June 30, 2009
John A. Moran October 21, 1998 April 2002
Joseph E. Brennan November 10, 1999 January 1, 2013
Antony M. Merck January 2000 December 2001
Steven R. Blust August 12, 2002 June 30, 2006
Rebecca F. Dye November 14, 2002 present
A. Paul Anderson August 22, 2003 May 30, 2008
Richard A. Lidinsky Jr. July 31, 2009 April 1, 2013
Michael Khouri December 2009 February 15, 2022
Mario Cordero June 3, 2011 January 23, 2017
William P. Doyle January 1, 2013 January 2, 2018
Dan Maffei June 30, 2016 present
Louis E. Sola January 23, 2019 present
Carl Bentzel December 9, 2019 present
Max Vekich February 15, 2022 present

Responsibility for U.S. merchant shipping has been held by different federal agencies since 1917. For a history, see United States Shipping Board.

References

  1. ↑ "About the FMC". US Government. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  2. ↑ "Daniel Maffei designated chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission". Splash247. 2021-03-31. Retrieved 2021-04-08.
  3. ↑ "Agencies - Federal Maritime Commission". Federal Register. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  4. ↑ FMC: The Ocean Shipping Reform Act: An Interim Status Report (June 2000). pdf, 48 p.
  5. ↑ ""The Shipping Act of 2010": the Evolution Continues …". Archived from the original on 2014-02-01. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  6. ↑ "President Biden Signs Cantwell-Championed Ocean Shipping Reform Act". U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation. 2022-06-16. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  7. ↑ "Bureaus & Offices | The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)". www.fmc.gov. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  8. ↑ "Bureaus & Offices | The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)". www.fmc.gov. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
  9. ↑ "eCFR — Code of Federal Regulations". www.ecfr.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-14.
  10. ↑ "eCFR — Code of Federal Regulations". www.ecfr.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-14.
  11. ↑ "eCFR — Code of Federal Regulations". www.ecfr.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-14.
  12. ↑ "eCFR — Code of Federal Regulations". www.ecfr.gov. Retrieved 2018-10-14.
  13. ↑ Federal Regulatory Guide. CQ Press. 2020.
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