FMC closed as part of government shutdown

Commission employees have been placed on furlough and are prohibited by law from performing any duties during the shutdown.
   The Federal Maritime Commission is closed as part of the partial federal government shutdown due to a lapse in appropriations. 
   The commission will resume normal operations when appropriations legislation is enacted and the federal government reopens, according to an announcement Wednesday.
   With the exceptions of Acting Chairman Michael A. Khouri and Commissioner Rebecca Dye, who are presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed officials, all commission employees have been placed on furlough and are prohibited by law from performing any duties during the shutdown, the FMC said.
   As a result, all commission functions have been suspended, including the following: 
   • The commission will not respond to email or phone inquiries. 
   • The commission’s website will be available during the shutdown, but it will not be updated with new information until operations resume. 
   • The commission will not accept online filings or applications through its website for the following: service contracts through SERVCON; ocean transportation intermediary automated applications or license updates; foreign unlicensed non-vessel operating common carrier registrations or renewals; tariff registration forms; eAgreements Filing System (ocean carrier or marine terminal operator agreements or amendments); and eMonitoring System (agreement-monitoring reports, minutes and transcripts). 
   • The commission will not accept filings during this period for: ocean carrier or marine terminal operator agreements or amendments; applications for certification of financial responsibility for cruise lines embarking from U.S. ports; and agreement monitoring reports, minutes or transcripts. 
   • The commission’s online databases — SERVCON, OCC and NVOCC Tariff List, List of FMC Licensed and Bonded OTIs and the Agreement Notices & Library — will not be accessible. 
   • The commission will not accept or act on complaints, requests for dispute resolution services or ombudsman services. 
   • All filing deadlines in formal and informal adjudicatory and investigatory proceedings pending before the commission or administrative law judges are temporarily suspended. No filings will be received during the shutdown. 
   Upon reopening of the federal government and the FMC, the public is welcome to contact the Office of the Secretary at (202) 523-5725 or secretary@fmc.gov with any questions about filing deadlines or computation of time in proceedings. 
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Senior Editor Kim Link-Wills has written about everything from agriculture as a reporter for Illinois Agri-News to zoology as editor of the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Her work has garnered awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Magazine Association of the Southeast. Prior to serving as managing editor of American Shipper, Kim spent more than four years with XPO Logistics.