FMC Commissioner Richard Lidinsky attends the 54th Quadrennial ILA Convention

Federal Maritime Commissioner Richard A. Lidinsky, Jr. attended and participated in the 54th Quadrennial ILA convention held July 20 – 23, 2015, in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The convention was attended by over 400 delegates from U.S. ports from Maine to Texas, the Great Lakes region, major U.S. rivers, Eastern Canada, and Puerto Rico. Speakers included prominent union members, government officials including Congressmen Benny Thompson and Gene Green, and employer groups.

Commissioner Lidinsky gave a presentation on the Commission’s primary tasks of monitoring and regulating the nation’s foreign waterborne commerce, as well as, protecting those who engage in the U.S.’s foreign commerce from restrictive rules and regulations of foreign government, and from foreign-flagged carriers that may have an adverse effect on shipping in the U.S. trade.

“Recognizing that our waterborne commerce is overwhelmingly foreign cross-trader dominated, it is important that the FMC keep US interests first among our regulatory responsibilities and mandates,” stated the Commissioner. “Many of these carriers are good U.S. regulatory citizens, but a handful of them try to take advantage of every legal loophole, and continue to put themselves above the law and our citizens. We at the FMC are not going to allow this to happen.”

The Commissioner further addressed the effects that container shipping alliances and mega vessels have on port congestion. He reiterated that port congestion was the FMC’s priority for 2015. The Commission has already taken steps to address congestion including the issuances of the Commission’s Report: Rules, Rates, and Practices Relating to Detention, Demurrage, and Free Time for Containerized Imports and Exports Moving Through Selected United States Ports, and U.S. Container Port Congestion & Related International Supply Chain Issues: Causes, Consequences & Challenges.

He concluded by stating that the ILA is on the “frontline to ensure that U.S. waterborne cargo freely flows for the benefit of all U.S. citizens.”

Commissioner Richard A. Lidinsky, Jr. Disclosure:

I am a Commissioner with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission. The Federal Maritime Commission is an independent regulatory agency responsible for regulating the nation’s international ocean transportation for the benefit of exporters, importers, and the American consumer. The FMC’s mission is to foster a fair, efficient, and reliable international ocean transportation system while protecting the public from unfair and deceptive practices. With that said, I should emphasize that my thoughts and comments here are mine and mine alone – they do not reflect the position of the Commission, and they should not be construed to represent the positions of any of my fellow Commissioners.