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Russia seeking control over the shortest maritime route between Europe and Asia, and imposing fees, while other nations push for international access,” the FMC stated.
Hookham said the parallels between Trump’ s comments with the FMC investigations could suggest“ other issues are going to be opened up as the administration exercises its foreign policy. And it’ s certainly on our radar.”
GSF has been advising shippers to“ expect the unexpected,” he said.“ It’ s not going to be business as usual. You’ re going to have to manage disruption, and the first thing you need to do is to have people on the ground able to respond quickly.”
Based on its findings, the FMC could impose penalties of up to $ 1 million per voyage, limit voyages to and from US ports, and block vessels from certain countries from entering US waters. The FMC could also suspend rate tariffs, service contracts or carrier agreements in US trades.
According to a March 2025 commentary from forwarder Mallory Alexander, those actions could lead to“ delays, unplanned rerouting and reliability challenges, as well as the introduction of additional fees or pricing adjustments by carriers in response to transit inefficiencies.”
Advocates of the chokepoints investigation contend that stricter enforcement is necessary for US vessels to efficiently navigate the global maritime system.
A‘ race to the bottom’
Critics of the flag-of-convenience practice contend that certain registries provide a loophole for ship owners to circumvent regulations, taxes and operating expenses.
In its investigation into flags of convenience, the FMC claimed some foreign countries have engaged in a“ race to the bottom” to lower the cost of registering and flagging vessels. As such, these countries can no longer ensure the efficiency, reliability and safety of vessels, it argued.
Mathur said the FMC“ believes that they need to investigate the practices of various flag states around the world and the impact those flag states can have on US trading operations.”
If the investigation concludes that unfavorable shipping conditions exist, the FMC“ could take a range of actions, including imposing fees or limiting clearance of vessels into US ports,” he explained.
In its initial notices, the FMC indicated it could request further comments, conduct hearings or gather additional information as it proceeds with the investigations.
“ The potential next steps remain uncertain. The timing of such next steps, if any, is also unknown,” Mathur said.
email: autumn @ autumngiusti. com
The three US-flagged container ships— Maersk Denver, Maersk Nysted and Maersk Seletar— were denied access in Spain after departing from the Port of New York and New Jersey. The FMC indicated that Spain also turned away a Danish MPV vessel, the Marianne Danica, in May 2024 on grounds that it was transporting weapons to Israel. Spanish newspaper El País reported that the ship was carrying 27 tons of explosive material from Chennai, India, to the port of Haifa in Israel.
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Both container ships and MPVs are used to transport weapons and military cargo. MPVs can carry advanced weaponry, as well as roll-on / roll-off military equipment such as tanks and armored vehicles.
The FMC has received over 8,000 comments since launching an initial investigation in December 2024, many of which related to respondents’ positions on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The commission requested a second round of public comments after the Spanish government last September announced formal measures to halt the flow of certain cargo bound to or coming from Israel. The measures include banning ships and aircraft transporting weapons to Israel and barring tankers carrying fuel for the Israeli military from using Spanish ports and airspace.
The FMC is collecting public input“ on whether Spain is creating general or special conditions unfavorable to shipping in foreign trade,” and if so, what actions the agency should take in response.
Among those actions, the FMC said it could impose fees of up to $ 2.3 million per voyage on Spanish-flag ships calling US ports, restrict voyages to or from US ports, and limit cargo types and amounts. The commission could also order the Department of Homeland Security to detain or refuse ships and / or fine vessel operators.
email: autumn @ autumngiusti. com www. joc. com March 2026 | Journal of Commerce 19