Upcoming Maritime Emissions Shipping Tax 'Unacceptable,' Outgoing FMC Chair Says
Departing Federal Maritime Commission Chair Louis Sola criticized a new global emissions framework adopted earlier this year by the International Maritime Organization's Marine Environment Protection Committee, saying it will "unfairly" tax American cargo on the high seas. Sola suggested the rules should be investigated.
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The measures, approved by the IMO in April, will assess fees on certain large vessels with over 5,000 gross tonnage, which the organization said are responsible for 85% of the total carbon dioxide emissions from international shipping. The tax could impose a minimum $100 fee for every ton of greenhouse gases emitted by certain large ships, The Associated Press reported. The IMO said it expects the fees to take effect in 2027.
Sola, whose term at the FMC ended June 30 (see 2506240024), said the IMO has "granted itself the authority to establish such taxes on emissions," and the money would be "redistributed by the IMO to nations of its choosing to support poorly defined projects that are vaguely purported to achieve largely unquantified goals." He said costs to ship a container are predicted to rise by $100 per shipment as a result.
"This is unacceptable," Sola said. "Americans should not be subjected to a tax for cargoes travelling on the high seas. The IMO is on a path where their actions seemingly create conditions unfavorable to shipping in foreign trade sufficient to invite scrutiny."
The FMC has powers to investigate whether certain laws or regulations create unfavorable shipping conditions in the foreign trade of the U.S.
As the IMO looks to assess the new fees, it has also been "ineffective in addressing the scourge of ghost fleets and substandard registries" that allow illegal actors, such as smugglers, to ship goods, Sola said. "Legitimate shipping, innocent seafarers, and the environment are put at risk by those operating ghost fleet vessels. The IMO professes it is addressing the problem, but evidence proves otherwise," he said. "It is hard not to see the IMO as a fundamentally ineffective organization only capable of acting in its self-interest to expand its coffers."
He added that the global emissions system may be a sign of other similar measures to come, which should be "viewed skeptically if not outright rejected."