The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates United States ocean-borne transportation and the United States Merchant Marine.

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).

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 principal 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,FMC: The Ocean Shipping Reform Act: An Interim Status Report (June 2000). pdf, 48 p. which took effect on May 1, 1999, and the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022.

Organization The commission is composed of five commissioners, appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. It is a bipartisan commission, so no more than three commissioners may be appointed from the same political party. The term of each commissioner is five years, with one term ending every year on June 30. When the term of a commissioner ends, the commissioner may continue to serve until a successor is appointed and qualified, but for a period not to exceed two years. Commissioners may serve a maximum of three terms. If they were initially appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term, they may serve three terms in addition to that initial partial term. The President designates one of the commissioners as Chairman, who serves as the chief executive and administrative officer of the commission.

Current commissioners List of commissioners : Position Name Party Took office Term expires Chair Republican Member Republican Member Democratic Member Democratic Member Republican

Bureaus and offices List of bureaus and offices:

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).

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.

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.

Licensing requirements

OTIs must be licensed by the FMC before they perform OTI services in the United States. 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 PortraitCommissionerTook officeLeft officeJohn HarlleeAugust 1961June 1969Ashton C. BarrettFebruary 1962June 1977Thomas E. StakemFebruary 1962June 1963James V. DayFebruary 1962June 1984John S. PattersonFebruary 1962September 1966George H. HearnJuly 1964June 1978James F. FanseenMarch 1967June 1971Helen Delich BentleyJune 1970June 1975Clarence G. MorseOctober 1971June 1976Karl E. BakkeNovember 1975June 1977Robert R. CaseyJanuary 1976September 1977Richard J. DaschbachAugust 1977October 1982Thomas F. MoakleyOctober 1977October 1988Leslie KanukJune 1978June 1981Peter N. TeigeJune 1980September 1981Alan Green Jr.June 1981June 1985James J. CareyOctober 1981June 1990Robert SetrakianMay 1983August 1985Edward J. PhilbinMarch 1985December 1989Frank IvancieNovember 1985June 1992Edward Hickey Jr.November 1985January 1988Elaine ChaoApril 29, 1988April 19, 1989William HathawayFebruary 8, 1990November 11, 1999Rob QuartelApril 1990June 1994Ming C. HsuJune 1990December 1999Chris KochOctober 1990March 1994Joe Scroggins Jr.June 1994June 2000Delmond J. H. WonAugust 1994August 2003Harold J. Creel Jr.August 17, 1994June 30, 2009John A. MoranOctober 21, 1998April 2002Joseph E. BrennanNovember 10, 1999January 1, 2013Antony M. MerckJanuary 2000December 2001Steven R. BlustAugust 12, 2002June 30, 2006Rebecca F. DyeNovember 14, 2002presentA. Paul AndersonAugust 22, 2003May 30, 2008Richard A. Lidinsky Jr.July 31, 2009April 1, 2013Michael KhouriDecember 2009February 15, 2022Mario CorderoJune 3, 2011January 23, 2017William P. DoyleJanuary 1, 2013January 2, 2018Dan MaffeiJune 30, 2016presentLouis E. SolaJanuary 23, 2019June 30, 2025Carl BentzelDecember 9, 2019December 13, 2024Max VekichFebruary 15, 2022presentLaura DiBellaJanuary 6, 2026presentRobert HarveyJune 1, 2026present

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

References

External links

Federal Maritime Commission in the Federal Register