Privacy at a Glance 

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The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is committed to protecting your privacy and safeguarding any information you provide while visiting our website. This notice explains how information is collected, used, maintained, protected, and shared when you visit the FMC’s website or otherwise interact with FMC through its public-facing websites and online services. This summary highlights key points of our notice.

• No personally-identifiable information is automatically collected unless you choose to provide us with that information.  

• We do not sell your personal information. Information may be shared only as authorized by law for official government purposes, such as responding to your request, administering FMC programs, protecting FMC information systems, or complying with legal requirements.  

• We do not use persistent cookies. The FMC’s website uses session cookies, which are temporary and are deleted when you close your web browser.  

• Privacy Act Statements are provided in the applicable online form or point of collection whenever required by law.  

Please read the complete notice below for detailed information about FMC’s privacy and security practices.  

When you visit the FMC website, certain information is automatically collected and stored for website administration, performance measurement, cybersecurity, and operational purposes. This information does not contain personal identifiers. 

Examples of information automatically collected and stored include: 

• Your Internet domain; 

• Your Internet Protocol (IP) address; 

• Your browser type and version; 

• Your operating system; 

• The date and time of your visit; 

• The pages you visit; 

• The website that referred you to FMC.gov, when available; and  

• Other technical information necessary to operate, maintain, and improve the website. 

Information the FMC Collects from Email and Web Forms 

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When you send an email or fill out a form and submit it through our website, the information FMC collects may include: 

• your name; 

• mailing address; 

• email address; 

• telephone number; 

• organizational affiliation; 

• information contained within your correspondence; and 

• any additional information you choose to submit. 

Submitting such information, including personally-identifiable information, by email or through our website is voluntary; by doing so, you are giving the FMC your permission to use the information for a specific, stated purpose. However, not providing certain information may result in the FMC’s inability to provide the services you are seeking.

Consent to Collection, and Use and Sharing of Information

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Information collected through the FMC website is used only for authorized government purposes.  The FMC may share information with FMC employees, authorized contractors, other Federal and State government agencies when authorized by law, pursuant to court order or other legal process, as required by the Freedom of Information Act, the Privacy Act, and as otherwise authorized by Federal statute or regulation.  The FMC does not give, sell, rent, or otherwise disclose personal information to third parties for commercial marketing. 

For information that the FMC automatically collects and stores, the FMC uses this information to: 

• Operate and maintain the website;  

• Improve website performance and usability;  

• Identify technical problems;  

• Protect the website against unauthorized access or malicious activity; and 

• Support cybersecurity monitoring. 

For information the FMC collects from email and web forms, you are indicating voluntary consent for us to use the information you are submitting.  The FMC uses and shares voluntarily submitted information only for purposes consistent with the reason the information was collected, including: 

• responding to your inquiry; 

• providing requested services; 

• processing submissions; 

• administering FMC programs; 

• improving customer service; and 

• carrying out other authorized government functions. 

Where information is collected that is subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, the applicable online form or point of collection includes a Privacy Act Statement explaining: 

• the legal authority for the collection; 

• the purpose of the collection; 

• routine uses of the information; 

• whether providing the information is voluntary or mandatory; and 

• the consequences, if any, of failing to provide requested information. 

Security, Intrusion, and Detection Notice 

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We are committed to properly securing the information we collect online.  To help us accomplish this, we take the following steps: 

• We employ internal access controls to ensure that the only people who see your information are those with a need to do so to perform their official duties; 

• We train relevant personnel on our privacy and security measures so that our personnel know what is required for compliance; 

• We physically secure the areas where we hold hard copies of the information we collect online; 

• We regularly back up the information we collect online to ensure against loss; 

• We use technical controls to secure the information we collect online as appropriate, including but not limited to: Secure Socket Layer (SSL), encryption, firewalls, password protections; 

• We periodically test our security procedures to ensure personnel and technical compliance; and 

• We employ external access safeguards to identify and thwart unauthorized attempts of outsiders to hack into, or cause harm to, the information in our systems. 

Tampering with the FMC website is against the law.  If anyone tries to tamper with it, they may be punished under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act of 1996. 

The FMC’s network security meets the requirements of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-53, Revision 5, at the moderate impact level. The FMC uses security controls such as encryption, phishing‑resistant multi‑factor authentication (MFA), Role‑Based Access Control (RBAC), User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA), data loss prevention, data masking and obfuscation, and integration with a security information and event management (SIEM) system. All data is stored in a Platform as a Service (PaaS) environment that is certified through the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). The system is continuously monitored and receives a full audit each year. 

Rights Under the Privacy Act of 1974 

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The Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. § 552a), prohibits the disclosure without consent of information about individuals that the federal government maintains in a system of records. Agencies are required to give the public notice of their systems of records by publication in the Federal Register. View a list of the FMC’s System of Record Notices. If we store records about you in a system of records, we will safeguard your information in accordance with the Privacy Act.  

The Act also provides individuals the right to seek access to and amendment of their records, although such requests are subject to exemptions as set forth in the Privacy Act. In addition, the Act allows individuals to sue an agency for violating the Privacy Act.  

More information about the FMC’s Privacy Act regulations can be found at: 46 C.F.R. Part 503, Subpart H.  To seek access to and amendment of records, please Submit a Privacy Act Request. 

Privacy Program Page

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Learn more about the FMC’s Privacy Program.  

Last Updated 1:36 PM on 09/24/2026