During yesterday’s nomination hearing for the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC), U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, asked FMC Chairman Daniel Maffei and Commissioner Rebecca Dye about the progress the agency is making to implement the Ocean Shipping Reform Act to boost farmers’ and exporters’ ability to get their goods to the global marketplace.

“Cargo stranded at ports harm American shippers, they harm our farmers, our fishermen, our businesses that rely on those ocean carriers to get their products to markets across the globe,” Sen. Cantwell told the FMC commissioners. “Focus on protecting American businesses.”

Port congestion that began during the COVID-19 pandemic left exporters, including American farmers, struggling to get their products to global markets because of unpredictable sailings, ocean carriers denying American cargo and skyrocketing freight costs.

In response, Sen. Cantwell successfully shepherded the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 into law, which leveled the playing field for American exporters and importers and provided FMC tools to improve oversight over international ocean carriers. The bill stops international ocean carriers from unreasonably declining American export cargo and eliminates unfair shipping charges – detention and demurrage fees – from being placed on American shippers for products held at ports for reasons out of their control.

This month, the FMC finalized a rule on detention and demurrage billing practices that will take effect in May 2024.

“Between 2020 and 2022, nine of the largest carriers charged approximately $8.9 billion in demurrage and detention fees,” Sen. Cantwell said. “These are fees above the cost of shipping. These are exorbitant fees passed on to the consumers and we can't afford that. I don't know how confident you are that this rule is going to get rid of those exorbitant fees. Could you tell me?”

Chairman Maffei was confident the new detention and demurrage rule would be effective in helping to eliminate some of the billing abuses, confirming to the senator that “these fees are for the promotion of the movement of cargo. They're not to pad the bottom line of an ocean shipping company. They're not for other purposes. They're supposed to be used for that. And if they're not used for that, they're unreasonable.”

Sen. Cantwell also pressed nominees about the status of a pending final rule that would result in stopping more carriers from unreasonably denying American cargo on carrier ships. So far, the FMC proposed a rule in September 2022, but Sen. Cantwell stressed a final rule needs to be announced soon to help American businesses and farmers secure their place in the global market.

“I represent a big trade state … So we want to see a more aggressive FMC,” Sen. Cantwell added.

Sen. Cantwell has been a steadfast champion for Washington state’s maritime economy and the state’s supply chain. Sen. Cantwell passed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act through the Commerce Committee and unanimously passed the bill in the Senate in March 2022. President Biden signed the bill into law on June 16, 2022. Sen. Cantwell secured $2.25 billion for the Department of Transportation’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Since PIDP was established in 2019, Washington state has received more than $161 million in competitive grant dollars, including $54.2 million to double capacity at the Port of Tacoma’s Husky Terminal – the single largest PIDP award announced last year.

View Sen. Cantwell’s full transcript here and watch the video here.