Biography

Commissioner Rebecca F. Dye, of North Carolina, was first nominated as a Federal Maritime Commissioner (FMC or Commission) by President George W. Bush on June 13, 2002, and was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 14, 2002. She has served successive terms as a Republican Commissioner under Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Joseph Biden, and Donald J. Trump.

Commissioner Dye has been a champion of free market solutions for transportation inefficiencies and promoted deregulation to benefit the U.S. economy. She has led groundbreaking investigations in support of American exporters, importers, truckers, shipping intermediaries, and international ocean carriers, including three Fact Finding investigations. In 2010, Commissioner Dye led Fact Finding 26, a review of vessel capacity and equipment availability in the United States export and import liner trades. She also led the Supply Chain Innovation Team, where she worked with U.S. international supply chain stakeholders to develop commercial solutions to supply chain challenges and related port congestion concerns. Most recently, she led Fact Finding 28, an investigation into detention and demurrage practices at ports, and Fact Finding 29, which identified operational solutions to cargo delivery challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to her appointment to the Federal Maritime Commission, Commissioner Dye was Counsel and Staff Director of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. In that position, she played a pivotal role in the development and negotiated enactment of significant maritime legislation, including the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998 and the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002.

Commissioner Dye began her federal career as a commissioned officer and attorney in the U.S. Coast Guard’s Office of the Chief Counsel, then served as a law instructor at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. After two years as an attorney at the U.S. Maritime Administration, she joined the staff of the former U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and served there as Minority Counsel from 1987 to 1995. Over her years of service, Commissioner Dye has gained invaluable knowledge of the maritime sector, enabling her to better serve both industry stakeholders and the broader American public.

Commissioner Dye earned her bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.