Statement of Chairman Michael A. Khouri on Lake Carriers’ Association petition and Section 19 Investigation

Representatives of American industry and the U.S. government have repeatedly, and in many different forums, raised serious concerns about the ballast water regulations being developed by Transport Canada.  The potential discriminatory effect these regulations – and the possible adverse impact of even the pendency of these proposed regulations –  might have and be having on U.S. shipping in the Great Lakes trade area has been made clear to representatives of the Canadian government. This Section 19 investigation will provide the Commission the opportunity to explore these issues more fully while the Canadian government considers future actions concerning their ballast water regulations. The Commission’s action today to initiate this Section 19 investigation will provide the Commission the ability to act quickly in the event it is necessary to level the playing field for the U.S. Great Lakes fleet.

Chairman Michael A. Khouri is a Commissioner with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission. The thoughts and comments expressed here are his own and do not necessarily represent the position of the Commission.