Ahead of the Curve: Trump Nominees Join Federal Maritime Commission

By Will Sehestedt, Vice President of Government Affairs

On Jan. 23, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) welcomed two commissioners following their confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Daniel Maffei of New York was sworn into a term expiring in 2022, and Louis Sola of Florida was sworn into a term expiring in 2023.Commissioner Maffei previously served on the FMC from 2016 to 2018, after taking over the seat of Richard Lidinsky in 2016. The FMC holds jurisdiction over the international ocean transportation system for the U.S., and regulates ocean transportation intermediaries as well as shipping lines, marine terminal operators, cruise lines, and related operators at U.S. ports.

Prior to his reappointment to the FMC, Commissioner Maffei served as a professor at The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Political Management. He represented upstate New York in Congress from 2009-2011 and 2013-2015, during which time he was a member of the Armed Services, Science and Technology, Financial Services, and Judiciary Committees. His academic background includes teaching stints at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and he holds degrees from Brown University, Columbia University and Harvard University.

Commissioner Sola previously served on the Florida Board of Pilots Commissioners where he presided over a probable-cause panel for maritime accidents. His background in the private sector includes time with Campers & Nicholson International as an International Ship Broker, and he also served as a consultant with Arden & Price advising and reporting on the handover of the Panama Canal. Commissioner Sola holds a bachelor’s degree in Management from Nova Southeastern University and a master’s degree in International Finance from the University of Illinois. He is tri-lingual and has served as a strategic debriefer for the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command and the U.S. Southern Command. The FMC will be Commissioner Sola’s first civil service for a non-defense agency.

TIA includes many members who work FMC-licensed ocean transportation intermediaries, or who partner with those intermediaries to move freight to and from U.S. ports. TIA government affairs staff closely monitors news and regulatory developments from that agency to ensure that the voices of 3PLs are represented in any proceeding. For more information, please contact Will Sehestedt at sehestedt@tianet.org.