By Land and By Sea
By Land and By Sea
S4.E21 - Captain's Log - FMC reviews shadow fleets and controlled carriers // shipbuilding EO // USTR recommendations (pre-release)
š¢ By Land and By Sea ā Captainās Log: What You Missed in Maritime This Week āļø
š Episode Date: April 17, 2025
There's a LOT going on - let me point out a few things under the radar, and discuss a few of the hot topics you're already watching...
Weāve got seven top stories that signal a decisive shift in U.S. maritime strategy.
ā The Maritime ProfessorĀ® presents By Land and By Sea Podcast š ā an attorney breaking down the week in supply chain with Lauren Beagen (Founder of The Maritime ProfessorĀ® and Squall StrategiesĀ®)
š¹ Top 7 Stories This Week:
1ļøā£ Restoring Americaās Maritime Dominance
President Trump signed a 24-part Executive Order to rebuild U.S. shipbuilding, port infrastructure, the commercial fleet, and mariner workforce.
2ļøā£ USTR Revises Chinese Port Fee Plan
After major backlash, USTR plans to shift from a flat $1M fee to a more strategic, targeted tariff approach.
3ļøā£ FMC Investigates Global Maritime Chokepoints
The Federal Maritime Commission launched a formal investigation into seven key chokepointsāfrom the Panama Canal to the Strait of Gibraltar.
4ļøā£ FMC Takes Aim at Iranās Shadow Fleet
FMC Chairman Louis Sola urges global registries to purge Iranās covert vessels used for sanctions evasion.
5ļøā£ Sea-Air-Space 2025 Highlights
The Navy League of the United States's biggest event of the year - highlighting advancements in maritime tech, conversations with the highest leaders in sea services, and thought leaders from all facets of maritime.
6ļøā£ Returning from Ebb Tide: New Book Launch
The Center for Maritime Strategy released a blueprint for revitalizing the U.S. maritimeāfeaturing thought leaders like Admiral James G. Foggo (ret.) MSC, Brent Sadler, and Capt. John É Konrad V.
7ļøā£ FMC Classifies Chipolbrok as PRC-Controlled Carrier
The FMC has added a new company to its Controlled Carrier Listātightening oversight on state-backed shipping.
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ā ļø Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes onlyā it is not legal advice. If you need legal help, contact a lawyer.
ā
š Like, comment, and share if you're following these shifts in maritime policyāespecially if you're in shipbuilding, logistics, or international trade.
#MaritimeLaw #FMC #OceanShipping #SupplyChain #TradePolicy #MaritimeProfessor #ByLandAndBySea #PortPolicy #Chokepoints #SeaAirSpace2025 #ExecutiveOrder
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I got soul coming through, flying free. Skies are blue, all the waves are mixing room. I got soul coming through, won't stop in the beat and, on top of the world, catwalk to the beat. When you see me coming, mix and boom. Everywhere I go, I'm in the spotlight. This is a good life I'm living. Bold. This is what it looks like On the tips and bottoms of the world. Well, here we are. It's a Thursday afternoon. We didn't go live last week. Tomorrow's Good Friday. You know what? We're throwing the schedule out this week, these past two weeks, and we're going live today, this month of April it's only the 17th. This month of April has been wild. We've had incredible new wins of maritime policy and it seems they're shifting and shaping just as fast as they're being rolled out. So, from the White House's bold push to revive American shipbuilding the executive order to the FMC's global choke point investigations that I keep mentioning and a few other things happening at the FMC, to live reports from last week being in DC at the Sea Air Space, the Navy League Sea Air Space Expo.
Speaker 1:This episode dives into the strategic moves shaping the future of ocean shipping. We're going to break it down. We're back with a packed Captain's Log covering seven, seven stories today, seven major developments, so let's get into it. Hi, welcome back to by Land and by Sea, an attorney breaking down the weakened supply chain presented by the maritime professor me. I'm Lauren Beacon, founder of the Maritime Professor and Squall Strategies. I'm your favorite maritime attorney. Join me every week to walk through both ocean transport and surface transport topics in the wild world of supply chain. As always, the guidance here is general and for educational purposes only. It should not be construed to be legal advice and there is no attorney-client privilege created by this video or this podcast. If you need an attorney, contact an attorney. Usually we go through my top three stories, top three stories of the week, but this week every story is a top story, so let's get right into it.
Speaker 1:Story number one let's hit it right on the White House executive order restoring America's maritime dominance. I mean, we've been talking about maritime in the national stage and here we have it an executive order out of the White House titled Restoring America's Maritime Dominance. He signed a sweeping executive order aiming to revive US shipbuilding, maritime infrastructure and workforce development. And, like I said, I was at the Navy League's Sea, air and Space Expo last week there was a lot of chatter about the executive order perhaps coming out that week, so it was a really exciting time to be in DC. Anyways.
Speaker 1:Now there are 24, I think it is sections to this executive order. I'm going to highlight a few, I'm going to talk kind of through them, but I do want to highlight a few because there are some that I find very interesting. So the purpose, of course, right. The United States has seen decades of neglect in commercial shipbuilding and maritime workforce and I say that not in disrespect to the shipbuilding and workforce that we currently have reserve fleet, which is kind of the maritime military ready to go force that's otherwise commercial, I guess in kind of a overly simplified way of explaining that. But US flag vessels is under 200. The US currently builds less than 1% of global commercial ships, while China produces approximately half of the world's global commercial ships. The executive order calls for restoring maritime competitiveness and investing in maritime industrial base. So the policy section two was rebuild and revitalize domestic maritime industries and workforce to advance national security and economic prosperity.
Speaker 1:Do you remember way back I think it was December when on this podcast, I said remember way back, I think it was December when, on this podcast. I said, guys, mike Waltz has been tapped as a national security advisor. Maritime security just became national security. We could see it starting then. We could see it starting then because there was the Kelly Waltz bill, the SHIPS Act, right, but before it was the SHIPS Act it was called the Kelly Waltz bill, and then Waltz got tapped to be the national security advisor and and from there we've seen all of this. That it's just been exciting, if nothing else. Right, there's a lot happening and it's hard to keep it all straight, but try your best, right, we got to keep up with it because we got to be ready, because we're the industry. We're the industry, this is the maritime industry and we all have to be ready to go when, when it's time and this executive order is kind of beginning to be part of that All right, guys, go time.
Speaker 1:The Maritime Action Plan, section 3, within 210 days, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs so APSNA I don't know if they're doing an acronym on that APNSA in coordination with multiple federal agencies, shall deliver a maritime action plan to the president. I'm so excited for this maritime action plan because one of the things that MTSNAC, the Maritime Transportation System National Advisory Committee has been talking about for years and something that's been attempted a few different times through recent maritime administrators is a national maritime strategy. I see this maritime action plan as perhaps the first steps there. It's going to be a guide for legislative, regulatory and fiscal action that's what they say. That's kind of encompassing the rest of the sections, at least kind of the mid-section 4 through 21,. I think it is of this order and it's also pushing the Buy American Act. So this maritime action plan we don't have a ton of information yet but I'm interested and encouraged at where this could go. We also have a section on maritime industrial base security reviewing current authorities to invest and expand commercial and defense shipbuilding supply chains, repair facilities, an investigation of People's Republic of China maritime targeting, people's Republic of China maritime targeting. This is where we it's kind of a segue back to the USTR, china Shipbuilding. Remember this is the one where everybody was really concerned about it, because the proposal was a million dollars or maybe $1.5 million per vessel call If you had a China-built vessel, either as the vessel calling to the US or maybe even in your fleet. It wasn't really clearly defined, but that was the USTR. This executive order. Section 5, talks about this investigation and is saying that the USTR is directed to basically submit their recommendations to the White House, coordinate enforcement activities, information collection with relevant federal agencies, consider imposing tariffs on Chinese origin ship to shore cranes and other cargo handling equipment, which was part of another USTR Section 301 investigation. But this kind of at least harkens back to that and kind of cross references it.
Speaker 1:Section six the Harbor Maintenance Fee Fix. Harbor Maintenance, the HMT, the Harbor Maintenance Tax fix, the HMT, the Harbor Maintenance Tax. This one you may or may not have known, but there was a loophole, or there is a loophole for the Harbor Maintenance Tax. So this is an ad valorem, so on the basis of the value of the goods is what this tax is for. But there was a loophole that the tax is assessed as it comes into an ocean or a seaport. But you could loophole it by going in through Canada and railing in through a land port. You wouldn't necessarily be well, you wouldn't be charged that harbor maintenance tax, the HMT. Some ports were giving incentives for maybe waivers or not waivers, but like kind of cost, a way to kind of balance it out. Basically they were, they were trying to be creative with how to how to.
Speaker 1:The harbor maintenance tax allows for dredging projects to go on right. Harbor maintenance and I think a few kind of similarly area thing, but mostly it was for kind of dredging, is what it's known to be for. But if you go through Canada, it's cargo diversion, right, and you come through the rail, you didn't get charged this. Now what section six is saying is that the harbor maintenance tax will be charged at those land ports and there's going to be a 10% surcharge. So it's actually going to cost a little bit more to go Canada as your seaport maybe Prince Rupert or wherever and then come down through a land port. Same thing would happen through Mexico. Right, that's part of it. But now they're saying this will close that loophole. These inland cargo ports, these inland land ports now will be charging this harbor maintenance tax. And it says restoring equity across transport modes.
Speaker 1:The next two section seven and eight engage allies and partners to align trade policies and reduce dependence on adversaries through allies and partners. There's section nine launch a maritime security trust fund. This one's really interesting. It says develop a legislative proposal to create a trust fund that provides reliable support for maritime action plan, that first almost kind of maritime strategic plan that we talked about provides reliable support for Maritime Action Plan program, potentially using tariffs, fines or fees as revenue sources. So that's an interesting one. Maritime Security Trust Fund I want to see where that one goes. Shipbuilding Financial Incentive Program sure that's going to be something offering grants, loans and loan guarantees for domestic vessel construction? We do have shipbuilding incentive programs currently, but probably expanding those.
Speaker 1:Section 11 is something I want you to take a look at maritime prosperity zones. Maritime prosperity zones incentivize maritime investment in geologically diverse areas, including inland and Great Lakes regions, with potential regulatory relief. This one I find really interesting. If you're not from Massachusetts and I know that most of you are not, because my top cities are really Singapore is actually my top city. We have LA, long Beach, we have New York, so not many people are actually from the Massachusetts area but I encourage you to actually look up designated port areas. It's a Massachusetts thing and I think that it roughly aligns with the intention here between this maritime prosperity zone, where you kind of designate these zones for maritime purposes and incentivize maritime investment in these areas. I don't know for sure, I think, yet to see what this actually looks like, but these maritime prosperity zones, I think might be kind of roughly paralleled to this DPA, this designated port area that is already in the Massachusetts world. So just take a look and I think that this one could be interesting and certainly an incentive builder for maritime, because maritime can only call at the shores, right, so you have to kind of protect that area because you're competing with condo buildings and all sorts of people wanting to be on the shoreline. But maritime can only be on the shoreline, so you need to kind of protect those areas a little bit. I don't know, We'll see what that one turns into.
Speaker 1:Section 12, report on maritime industry and needs. Section 13, expand mariner training and education. Love this, love this. It says within 90 days, the Secretaries of State Defense, labor, transportation, education, homeland Security must deliver a comprehensive report to the president, through the assistance of the president of NSA, outlining recommendations to address maritime workforce challenges. This is something that, if you follow me on LinkedIn, I hope you do and I hope that you'll reach out if you do. But I posted a. There was a panel that talked about mariner training and education and the need to expand these programs, because even if we were to get all the ships right now, we wouldn't have the the full capacity that we would need. That's required. We don't have it now for all of our vessels, but we need more credentialed mariners and more housepipers and more everybody who works in the maritime world. So I mean, if you're considering a job switch which you probably already are in the maritime world but consider maritime and it looks like we're about to have some more training and education in this area. So I think that this is going to be a really great thing. Yeah, modernize the US Merchant Marine Academy. You might have seen Secretary of Transportation SecDOT went over to Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy and highlighted that they could use some repairs, some updates, monetization generally and long overdue, and I think that this will be a great thing. Improve procurement efficiency improve government efficiency those are both listed.
Speaker 1:Expand US flag fleet for international trade this is a big one. A legislative proposal must identify new incentives to grow the US flag fleet for national security and commercial use. This is kind of those. These vessels are ready to go for military seal if needed, but their day job is is commercial use. Ensure Arctic waterway security you may or may not know, but the US only really has two icebreakers one that's usually on dry dock and the other goes in for repairs quite a bit. We need more icebreakers and that has been talked about by President Trump a few different times, saying that we need more icebreakers, and that has been talked about by President Trump a few different times, saying that we need more icebreakers. But this ensuring Arctic waterway security I think is tied with that and perhaps a larger thing. It says maritime agencies and DOD must develop a national Arctic maritime strategy. We have Canada up there, excuse me, we have Alaska up there, and so we are an Arctic nation. So this is imperative.
Speaker 1:Shipbuilding Industrial Review. I'm going to skim through these a little bit more. We'll continue to dive through these as we get more information, but I wanted to highlight all of these sections just so that you've at least heard it once if you haven't taken a look at the EO executive order yourself. Deregulatory Initiatives, inactive Reserve, fleet readiness coordination all plans and recommendations required must be developed through interagency coordination. And then it kind of goes into severability and general provision. So why does this matter?
Speaker 1:The US shipbuilding isn't just about building ships, right? We know that. It's about securing supply chains, creating jobs, ensuring America doesn't rely on geopolitical rivals to move essential goods. I mean, that's what the argument is here. But what we also need is just a return to maritime presence. And then, perhaps, right, the argument is a return to maritime dominance. But we have to have more of a presence to be anywhere near dominance. And I think this executive order is the first step. Right, we need more ships, we need more mariners, we need more, just all of it. We need more focus on the supply chains and the throughputs. But remember that it's not just the ships and the mariners, it's also the ecosystem around the port. Right, it's the ports, for sure, but it's the truck drivers, it's the drayage providers, it's the warehouses, it's the everything that goes along with it. And so when one little piece suffers and we saw that with COVID congestion the rest of the ecosystem suffers too. And I just don't want I think that's always been kind of my mission with this podcast is I don't want us to forget that they're hand in hand. It is an ecosystem.
Speaker 1:The conversation doesn't end at that port gate. Right, there's a whole inland section that's reliant on the ocean side and vice versa. The ocean side is reliant similarly on the surface transportation side. They have to work together and they have to both be kept in mind as we're building all this out. So I'm loving all this maritime talk Honestly I am. I just want to make sure that it doesn't get stopped at the gate, right. That feels like that's where the silo happens in general conversations when we talk about ocean shipping, and it shouldn't, it can't, it needs to go beyond the gate, not totally inland, but that throughput right that, wherever it touches, wherever that through bill of lading good goes. Keep that part of the conversation, all right.
Speaker 1:Story number two so USTR revises proposed port fee on China-built ships. China built ships. Earlier this year the United States Trade Representative, as we just talked about, proposed a $1 million $1.5 million port fee on Chinese built vessels calling at US ports. There was a lot of pushback at the time. Right, we had ports, we had commodity exporters, importers, foreign governments. The US Trade Representative, ambassador Greer, confirmed during a conversation with the Senate Finance Committee last week I think it was last week, two weeks, so who knows he confirmed that not all proposed fees will be implemented as originally envisioned. So I think that we can. We still need to watch this. I still hold that.
Speaker 1:That was at least in part not the only reason, but at least in part, to get everybody to the table to have the conversation, right, I think that they had to really shake it up and get everybody's attention, to make sure that everybody showed up for those hearings to really have the discussion on how do we get there, how do we get away from Chinese built ships and back to US built ships or, I mean really kind of the intention here is non-Chinese built because of that investigation. Right, this is all based on Section 301 investigation that US in 2024 and now just is going through their recourse and their corrective actions now here in 2025. So that's what this is all about how do we take corrective actions on Chinese dominance in this sector. And what happened at that Senate Finance Committee is that Ambassador Greer confirmed that it isn't going to be implemented the same way that was originally thought. Now, who knows what that looks like? Right, I mean that might be based on tonnage, that might be based on voyages versus every specific port of call. Right, I mean that might be based on tonnage, that might be based on voyages versus every specific port of call. Right, that was the concern was, what if it was a million dollars for every voyage or for every port of call East Coast is going to get slammed by something like that, right, I mean you would have even five port of calls, that's 5 million or 1.5 to each. I mean you're really getting up there Now per voyage. That would mean you could stop along the East Coast and it would be the voyage, the route, and not necessarily each call. I think there's also some clarity that's being sought by the industry on does it mean that you have a Chinese vessel in your fleet or does it mean that that vessel can't be the one that's calling the US port? I think we're still going to learn all about this. I'm expecting something out of the USTR, hopefully in the next short term, I guess, but you never know. I think timelines are sliding all over the place, but I'm expecting something sooner rather than later, and I think having Greer talk to the Senate Finance Committee and saying it's not going to be exactly as it was initially proposed is a good thing. All right.
Speaker 1:Story number three the FMC investigates global maritime choke points. So we've talked about this a lot, but I cannot stop talking about it. We have to pay more attention here. Look, the FMC, as we've talked about if you listen to this podcast has launched one of its most significant investigations, honestly, maybe ever, certainly in years. It's an inquiry into whether international policies or practices at key global maritime choke points are disadvantaging US ocean-borne trade. So these choke points, these narrow passages like canals and straits, are essential to the uninterrupted flow of containerized goods, bulk commodities and energy shipments across the globe.
Speaker 1:It's often asked does the FMC only deal in containerized cargo? Yes, is the answer. That's a correct answer. It's liner shipping which is ocean containerized cargo. But this Foreign Shipping Practices Act in Section 19 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, the authorities that this investigation is based on is beyond container. It can touch bulk, it can touch energy, lng, it can touch any sort of commodity being shipped. The FMC in your mind, it's probably containerized cargo only. Not for this investigation and not for other investigations around this Foreign Shipping Practices Act or Section 1940.
Speaker 1:So, continuing on, amid rising geopolitical tension and climate-driven disruptions like the drought-constrained Panama Canal, that was one of the examples referenced in the investigation, the FNC is assessing whether foreign governments or port authorities are enacting measures that are discriminatory, unreasonable or create adverse conditions for US carriers or cargo owners. The investigation signals a growing recognition that economic security and national security are intertwined and the access to these global trade arteries cannot be taken for granted. The Federal Maritime Commission launched an investigation into seven maritime choke points. So we have the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, the Northern Sea Route, malacca Strait, singapore Strait, strait of Gibraltar and the English Channel. So, and look, these are important, these are important chokepoint areas, right? So the FMC is exploring whether foreign practices are harming US trade. Under statutory authority, the commission can take corrective action.
Speaker 1:And this is where it gets really important to pay attention. They can bar vessels from US ports If they find, for example, panama is being found to have unreasonable trade barriers or unreasonable shipping practices, disadvantaging shipping practices, they could turn away Panamanian flagged vessels from US ports. Now Panamanian flag vessels are flagged convenience. They make up about 18 to 20 percent of the world's fleet. It's a big deal 18 to 20%. All of a sudden, cannot, cannot call it the US port. That would be a big deal. We'll see, not not happening yet, but in the realm of possibility and I'm not just saying obtuse possibility, like real possibility, no-transcript if your cargo moves this way not just containerized cargo if it moves through any of these choke points, pay attention, get a hold of what's happening here and submit comments, because this is important. These choke points are the highways of global trade. Any bottleneck, manipulation or unfair practice could delay goods and raise prices at home, and that's kind of the thought behind all of this for the FMC. And yet this investigation, as I keep saying, really hasn't received the attention or public understanding or public announcement that it really deserves. The implications stretch far beyond ports and carriers, potentially affecting food prices, manufacturing, us competitiveness on the global stage. You got to pay attention to this. They really are. Maybe it's been far overdue to look at the unfavorable shipping conditions that might exist at these maritime choke points, and that's what the FMC is doing here.
Speaker 1:I did a full, deep dive on this. I have a new e-course out on it. It's called Maritime Choke Points. It's at themaritimeprofessorcom. Go take a look at it If you just want to get briefed up, because you have less than a month actually less than a month. I think it's May 13th is when comments are due. I'll make sure to put the exact date in the show notes here, but take a look at this. There's an e-course on it. You can be done in an hour or so and learned everything you need to know about it All right.
Speaker 1:Story number four the FMC this is an interesting one is targeting Iran's shadow fleet and flagged inconvenience, and not necessarily as well. Maybe I should reframe that Chairman Sola has issued a direct call, so it's on behalf of his office, which is one fifth right of the whole FMC they all have. There's five commissioners, he's the chair, but Chairman Sola has issued a direct call to action for international ship registries to purge vessels associated with Iran's so-called shadow fleet. These vessels, often operating under deceptive ownership structures and flag convenience, are instrumental in helping Iran evade international sanctions. So what exactly is a shadow fleet? And it's going to be an oversimplification, but they're tankers or cargo vessels that obscure their ownership, use falsified tracking data, perhaps often operate under flagged convenience to avoid international scrutiny. They're typically used by sanctioned countries like Iran, sometimes potentially Russia or Venezuela, to move oil or goods outside the bounds of global regulatory frameworks. According to Chairman Sola's announcement, iran generated more than $100 billion in energy exports between 2022 and 2023 using this covert fleet. These vessels often obscure their true identity through tactics like ship-to-ship transfers, false documentation or manipulation of tracking systems.
Speaker 1:So Sola also issued a strong rebuke to the International Maritime Organization, saying its lack of response undermined global enforcement. He stated that the FMC will begin examining how certain registries facilitate sanction evasion and whether regulatory or policy tools could be used to address flags of convenience that undermine US foreign policy. Already we've seen a cut from the Panamanian Maritime Authority, reducing its registry shadow fleet involvement from 60% down to just 17%, but he cautioned that deregistered vessels must not be allowed to simply shift to another open registry. We've talked a little bit about flags of convenience, but basically when you're flagged by a country, you have to have some sort of a nexus to that country, but you can set the labor, the safety, the all sorts of kind of different things that go along with the flagging of a vessel. And so some countries offer what's called a flag of convenience and so it's kind of a lesser threshold to have that flag. So that's kind of what's happening here.
Speaker 1:Why is this important? Shadow fleets, truly, I mean, undermine maritime transparency and they can undermine the sanctions enforcement. They threaten energy markets and if left unaddressed, they really can cause big problems. So this is really interesting that this is coming out of Chairman Sola's office as something that he's going to be paying attention to Summit, which is where the European Union and the People's Republic of China and the FMC come together to discuss kind of international competition topics. It's been happening since about 2012. We've talked about the Global Regulatory Summit and maybe we'll return to that at some point, but he said that he intends to bring this up. He wants to bring up Chinese influence and Iran's shadow fleets, he says I plan to address these challenges at the next Global Maritime Regulatory Summit to ensure the most competitive, fair and reliable global supply chain. So big deal, big things. Not a full investigation yet, but definitely something worth paying attention to. The FMC is flexing its muscles on its statutory authority. I believe that they're still rooting this or Chairman Sola's office is rooting this in that same Foreign Shipping Practices Act in Section 19 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. But I'm going to continue to watch this. All right.
Speaker 1:Story number five and I'm trying to roll through because we have so many stories here. Story number five Sea, air and Space. This is the Navy League's Sea, air and Space Expo. It happens every year, always, I think, the first week of April. It's held at National Harbor. It is so cool. It's Maritime Innovation and Strategic Readiness. It's the largest maritime expo in the country.
Speaker 1:The Navy League, founded in 1902, is a civilian nonprofit and they're dedicated to supporting the US Navy, marine Corps, coast Guard and Merchant Marine. And I say all of that it's sea services. They are in support of sea services and I'll tell you, I've been a member of Navy League for quite a while, I mean since oh my gosh is it, has it been 15 years? I think I've been a member for maybe 15 years or so, coast Guard focused, but it's in support of sea services, and so I often, any group that I'm part of, will say merchant Marines are part of that. That was kind of a theme that I felt at the Sea, air and Space Expo last week was that merchant Marines are a part of it and I don't think the Navy League, by any fault of their own, are necessarily purposely leaving them out, but I think that they felt it felt like they were incorporating them a little bit more in this expo, more than past expos.
Speaker 1:The Navy League also educates the public on sea power. They advance maritime industrial strength and they promote maritime careers in STEM. At this year's expo we had defense firms showcasing next-gen technology, from unmanned vessels to AI-driven systems, from unmanned vessels to AI-driven systems. We had Admiral Kilby talking about the Navy's goal for fleet readiness. We had Center for Maritime Strategy, which is a think tank off of the Navy League, leading sessions on rebuilding the US shipbuilding base and global supply chain security. There was a STEM Expo. It really is, I mean, anything that you want to know about maritime from less of a supply chain standpoint and really more of like a military readiness, and it's an expo right. So, like cool tech, there was some cool tech down in the expo area. It really is such a cool, such a cool thing to go see. So why this matters Sea, air and Space gives us a front row seat to the technologies and policies shaping US naval strength and defense readiness. It really is such a cool expo. If you have never heard of it, or if you didn't put it on your list this year, consider it for next year because it's cool.
Speaker 1:Another thing kind of related to the Sea, air and Space expo story number six returning from E Ebtide, a Call to Renew US Commercial Maritime Power. So the Center for Maritime Strategy, like I said, the think tank of the Navy League, released its first major book Returning from Ebtide, renewing the US Commercial Maritime Industry. And so this is a what's it a three-part book where they really kind of go into a lot of different topics. We have the current state of America's commercial shipbuilding with four different chapters within their standalone US commercial fleet late Cold War and post-Cold War world of shipping and the impact to the US commercial fleet strategy for the commercial maritime industry, actually written by the newly appointed maritime administrator, brent Sadler. We have Savannah's legacy, advancing US commercial shipbuilding with small nuclear reactors. We have the elements of strategic sea lift as one of the chapters, one of the sections where it goes through a couple different areas within that. And then the Merchant Marine where it has an introduction to the Merchant Marine and the Maritime Academies and maritime training. So these chapters collectively really kind of encompass all things around maritime.
Speaker 1:I would love to have seen a little bit more of kind of a diving into the supply chain. Right, we have a strategy for the commercial maritime industry. I think I might have liked to have seen kind of that strategy expanded, but it's a great start. I love to see it. It's actually available for free download from the Marine Corps University Press. I'll put it in the show notes. And there was a live podcast reporting by Maritime Nation with Admiral James Fogo, with Captain John Conrad of G-Captain and Sanjana Sashikumar and they. It was such an interesting podcast I'll share a link to that as well. There was actually a personal story from Captain Conrad about the Mayor of Scalabama and how he was one of the first that got the call from the vessel, or he called the vessel, and kind of how all that played out. It was really a fascinating story. So story number seven.
Speaker 1:This will be the end of today, but the FMC classified Chipol Brook as a China-controlled carrier. So what does this mean? On April 14th, the FMC issued a public notice of determination classifying the Chinese-Polish Joint Stock Shipping Company, commonly known as Chipol Brook, as a controlled carrier for the PRC. This marks the first addition to the controlled carrier list in over a decade. I actually yeah, I think that is true. I write a script. And so what is a controlled carrier?
Speaker 1:Under the US Shipping Act, a controlled carrier is an ocean common carrier that is directly or indirectly owned or controlled by a foreign government. These carriers are subject to special oversight by the FMC to ensure these pricing practices do not distort competition or threaten US trade fairness. So this Controlled Carrier Act focuses on preventing state-controlled carriers from using artificially low shipping rates to gain market share in the US. Controlled carrier right. Is it a carrier that is controlled by a government? Controlled carriers must publicly file their tariffs with the FMC. More importantly, the commission can reject any tariff that is determined to be unjust, unreasonable or below market in any way that disrupts fair competition.
Speaker 1:So what's going on with this company? The FMC conducted a detailed analysis and found that it's a 50-50 between China and Poland. But what the FMC actually announced was that it was that China probably owned or controlled more than 50 percent. Because it controlled the company. It said that the main offices were in Shanghai, where its headquarters are. The Polish office was more of a branch. The Chinese company part of the company is more complex, with subsidiaries, executives, whereas it's received funding from Costco Shipping Group, which is also a controlled carrier. So it was kind of building on this.
Speaker 1:One of the arguments against why it shouldn't have been a controlled carrier is that under the authority it says owned or operated or controlled by a government, and so the argument was well, neither one of a government, it's a 50-50 share, one of a government, it's a 50-50 share. The FMC basically said look, they went back into the legislative history and said, nope, I know that it says a government, but like government was the legislative purpose here, and so we're going to say this is 100% owned by governments Poland and China, and even beyond that, china's more than 50% of control here. So this was an interesting one. Controlled carriers is something that doesn't come up often out of the FMC, but something worth paying attention to. There it is. We made it through and we did it in almost record time. As always.
Speaker 1:The Guidance Series General for educational purposes. It should not be considered to be legal advice. Free to reach out to me, my legal company, small Strategies. Otherwise, for the non-legal questions, the e-learning and general industry information and insight, come find me at the Maritime Professor. If you're enjoying these updates, don't forget to like, comment and share. I'd love to hear what you think. If you missed this episode or any of the previous episodes, go subscribe to Bylander by. See the Podcast available wherever you get your podcasts. While you're at it, check out themaritimeprofessorcom. We're building a growing library of self-paced e-courses that make complex maritime topics easy to understand. So until next week. This is Lauren Began, the Maritime Professor, and you've just listened to Landon by Sea. See you next time. You.