MARAD, FMC nominees call for bold action

Compiled by Gary Williams, Director of Transportation & Regulatory Affairs  

President Donald Trump’s newly nominated Maritime Administration (MARAD) chair, Stephen Carmel, appeared before the Senate Commerce Committee on Oct. 22 to pledge an aggressive focus on supply chain safety, connectivity and enhancing efficiency across America’s freight corridors.  

Carmel, bringing decades of leadership experience from roles as president of U.S. Marine Management and executive at Maersk Line Limited, opened his testimony with a message of strategic urgency: 

“A strong maritime sector is not nostalgia – it’s strategy. It means resilient supply chains we control; credible logistics for our joint forces; good jobs across our coasts, rivers and Great Lakes; and the freedom to move what America needs, when and where America needs it – under our own flag. We will not be the generation that stood on the sidelines and passively watched our noble industry die. We will be the generation that rebuilt it – stronger, smarter, faster and ready.” 

Carmel, a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy with hands-on sea experience, is seen by congressional supporters as a policy expert and operations leader. Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) praised Carmel’s qualifications, stating he is “well versed in maritime operations and security,” and is expected to provide strategic advice for federal maritime policy. 

In parallel, President Trump’s nominees for the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), Robert Harvey and Laura DiBella, outlined their vision to the committee. Harvey, referencing his background in securities litigation and financial regulation, emphasized, “Nothing gets an industry member’s attention like an enforcement action.”  

He promised close scrutiny of carrier alliances to root out anti-competitive practices and affirmed his goal to ensure that “FMC maintains a competitive and reliable international ocean transportation system and protects U.S. consumers, exporters and importers from unlawful, unfair and deceptive ocean transportation practices.”  

DiBella pointed to the realities of global carrier consolidation and asserted the FMC’s central role in ensuring American shippers are treated fairly despite these conditions, saying, “The carriers make the market. However, we need to provide some good oversight.” 

Both FMC nominees endorsed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022, but flagged ongoing concerns with detention and demurrage, calling for the agency to do more to “uncover efficiencies and why cargo is delayed.” Harvey noted the importance of encouraging innovation through regulation, arguing that fair and competitive markets will attract the private capital needed to solve chronic supply chain problems. 

Carmel used his appearance to urge more robust federal support to counter China’s global dominance in shipping, and he called for U.S. ports to adopt advanced technology to boost productivity.  

“We need to be using technology to leverage our labor and allow them to be more productive. We should use tech not to displace jobs, but to enhance them,” Carmel said.  

He warned that U.S. shipbuilding and merchant marine industries are “on a lifeline” and voiced support for the bipartisan SHIPS for America Act, which would foster domestic shipbuilding and expand the U.S.-flag fleet.  

On the need for demand generation, Carmel stated, “For ships in the international trade, we can’t build them at all. We don’t carry our own commerce. We need demand generation.” 

The Senate Commerce Committee, under Chairman Cruz, has yet to schedule a confirmation vote, with additional hearings expected on maritime policy priorities, including shipbuilding, workforce development, and initiatives such as the Martial Action Plan. Bipartisan leaders like Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) emphasized that U.S. shipyard capacity and workforce resiliency are essential to offset international competition, particularly from China, and to protect U.S. strategic and economic interests in regions such as the Arctic. 

For more information about the nominee hearings, read this article from Journal of Commerce.