House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Maritime Transportation Programs & Issues

Acting Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission Michael Khouri appeared yesterday before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure where he outlined the state of the international container shipping sector, key policy issues before the Commission, what his priorities will be as Acting Chairman in general, and more specifically, how he will work to ease regulatory burdens on industry.

Yesterday’s hearing, “Authorization of Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Programs”, was held by the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to appear before the subcommittee and share the work we have done over the past year, outline issues and trends we are observing within the shipping industry, and highlight how we will work to make interactions with the Commission a more efficient and less burdensome experience for our stakeholders,” said Acting Chairman Khouri. “I appreciate the interest Chairman Hunter and Ranking Member Garamendi have in our work as well as the leadership they provide on maritime issues.”

Acting Chairman Khouri testifies before the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation

In the course of his prepared remarks, Acting Chairman Khouri covered a number of topics under the jurisdiction of the Federal Maritime Commission, starting with a report on action the Commission took on March 6, 2017, to update its regulations pertaining to service contracts and NVOCC Service Arrangements eliminating a number of burdensome regulatory requirements that served as obstacles to efficient ocean transportation arrangements, added unnecessary transactional costs and served no regulatory purpose. He provided an interpretation of market conditions as well as the recent merger, acquisition, and bankruptcy activity that has taken place in the shipping industry resulting in a contraction of the number of ocean carriers in operation, as well as a reordering of the carrier alliance system. Last, Acting Chairman Khouri provided an update on the accomplishments of the Supply Chain Innovation Teams Initiative led by Commissioner Rebecca Dye, as well as a number of matters related to the administration and management of the Commission itself.

Acting Chairman Khouri’s full statement submitted to the subcommittee