Statement of Commissioner Bentzel Summarizing Remarks Delivered to the International Association of Ports and Harbors on the Maritime Transportation Data Initiative and the need for Continuing Engagement on National & Global Data Standards

Commissioner Carl Bentzel addressed the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) in Vancouver, B.C. at its “World Ports Conference 2022” on May 16, 2022, where he spoke about the Maritime Transportation Data Initiative (MTDI) he has led since last December.

The remarks were delivered at the “Resilience of Ports and Maritime Supply Chains: The US Regulator’s Perspective.”

“I greatly appreciate the opportunity to speak to the international port community about the work we are doing on data harmonization and definitions, as well as the many other issues industry faces in facilitating international trade and sustaining global supply chains,” said Commissioner Bentzel.

“It was an honor to meet so many port leaders from around the world and discuss the mutual challenges industry must address. I was pleased to hear support from so many conference participants about the necessity of harmonizing maritime transportation data. Our work began in December 2021 and will culminate in a Data Summit that will be held on June 1, 2022. I am encouraged by the reception, support, and willingness I received at the event to collaborate on these fundamental data issues. Clearly, we must engage the international community as we move forward with this initiative,” said Commissioner Bentzel.

The Data Summit will take place at the Federal Maritime Commission headquarters in Washington, D.C. The plenary session will begin at 10:00 AM (Eastern) and can be viewed by the public on the FMC YouTube channel. Each of the participants from the 18 stakeholder meetings held as part of the MTDI have been invited to attend. Following the plenary session, Summit participants will convene into three different breakout sessions and report out their work at 1:00 PM (Eastern).

Commissioner Bentzel will present these recommendations to his colleagues at a meeting of the Commission scheduled for July 13, 2022.

IAPH highlighted Commissioner Bentzel’s work on the MTDI in the May/June 2022 edition of its Ports & Harbors magazine.

Carl W. Bentzel 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.