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Statement of Commissioner Rebecca F. Dye

Federal Maritime Commission

Before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

United States Senate

November 30, 2010

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Hutchinson, and members of the Committee, I am 

honored to appear before you today, renominated by President Obama to be a Commissioner 

of the Federal Maritime Commission. My daughter, Caroline, who is a senior at the University 

of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was unable to be here with me today. 

I began my career in Washington as a commissioned officer and attorney in the United 

States Coast Guard’s Office of Chief Counsel. I later served as a law instructor at the Coast 

Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. After two years as an attorney at the United 

States Maritime Administration, I joined the former Committee on Merchant Marine and 

Fisheries in the House of Representatives as Minority Counsel, and in 1995, I became Counsel 

for the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the Committee on 

Transportation and Infrastructure. 

I was originally confirmed as a Federal Maritime Commissioner in 2002 and again in 

2005. Mr. Chairman, if I am confirmed to another term at the Federal Maritime Commission, I 

believe that my 30 years of experience in maritime law and policy will allow me to continue to 

contribute positively to the Commission’s vital mission. My experience with the Coast Guard 

and the Maritime Administration, as well as the Federal Maritime Commission, has allowed me 

to develop a broad understanding of maritime transportation. I am also very familiar with the

needs and general concerns of the various industry stakeholders regulated by the Commission.

Mr. Chairman, the international container shipping industry experienced, from late 2008 

through late 2009, an unprecedented drop in international trade volumes. Ocean carriers laid 

up roughly 575 vessels worldwide, idling approximately 12 percent of the world’s container 

fleet.

By early 2010, increases in export and import volumes collided with previous vessel 

capacity reductions. The resulting supply and demand mismatch created serious supply chain 

disruptions for American importers and exporters. The Commission received reports from 

American shippers and intermediaries that they were experiencing extreme difficulty obtaining 

vessel space and shipping containers for ocean transportation, particularly in the U.S.-Asia 

trades. 

Due to our concerns about the causes of these and other reported problems, as well as 

our concern that this situation could hinder our country’s economic recovery, the Commission 

ordered Fact-Finding Investigation No. 26, Vessel Capacity and Equipment Availability in the 

United States Export and Import Liner Trades. The Commission designated me the Investigating 

Officer in this matter.
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Following extensive interviews at the Commission and around the country, Mr. 

Chairman, I am pleased to report that the condition in U.S. ocean shipping has stabilized. Supply 

and demand in the U. S.-Asia trades are more evenly matched and complaints from American 

shippers have diminished. 

I am also pleased to announce that I have delivered my final, confidential report on my 

investigation to the Commission today. I developed a number of recommendations to address 

the problems we discovered during this investigation, in addition to the recommendations the 

Commission adopted this summer. The Commission will consider the final recommendations at 

our meeting scheduled for December 8, 2010. 

If I am confirmed, I will continue to work with shippers and ocean carriers on 

contractual service and supply chain reliability issues to improve the long-term effectiveness 

and reliability of the U.S. ocean transportation system. 

Mr. Chairman, during my term at the Commission, I strongly supported providing relief 

from tariff publication requirements to ocean transportation intermediaries which, according to 

comments filed with the Commission, could save their business up to $200,000 per year. This 

action would relieve unnecessary requirements, put cash back into their businesses, and 

potentially generate additional American jobs. The Commission will consider a final rule in this 

matter in the near future. 

Mr. Chairman, if confirmed by the Senate, I will be fair-minded and objective in 

executing the Commission’s statutory directives. I will do all I can to guarantee that all entities 

regulated by the Commission are provided with a fair market environment in which to operate. 

I will also work to eliminate unfair shipping practices by foreign governments, and protect 

cruise ship passengers against undue financial risk. 

Finally, Mr. Chairman, if I am confirmed, I will do all I can to assist in the effort to ensure 

economic and homeland security for our country.

Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for holding this hearing today, and I will be 

delighted to answer any questions you may have.