DOT Readout of Supply Chain Stakeholder Call on Red Sea Disruptions

On Thursday, as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Multimodal Freight Infrastructure and Policy’s ongoing coordination efforts amid attacks in the Red Sea, DOT convened stakeholders from the federal government as well as the shipping, trucking, rail, port, and other supply chain industries to provide updates and to hear concerns from the industry about mariner safety and supply chain impacts. DOT has been in frequent communication with freight industry partners since December regarding the impacts of the situation in the Red Sea, and this call is part of a regular series of stakeholder listening sessions the Department has been hosting on the matter. 

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) provided an update about their ongoing coordination with interagency partners including the Department of Defense about disruptions in the Red Sea. MARAD also discussed the interagency process to disseminate maritime alerts and advisories through the U.S. Maritime Advisory System. The system is designed to inform U.S. flagged vessels about potential or observed maritime threats around the globe. Those alerts can be found here, and longer-term advisories can be found here. 

The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) updated stakeholders about a public hearing they will hold on February 7 to discuss impacts the Rea Sea disruptions are having on maritime commerce and invited stakeholders to participate. More information on the hearing can be found here.  

Representatives of the shipping, seaport, and retail industries provided updates about operational impacts. The representatives shared concerns around increasing costs. and warned that if the disruptions in the Red Sea continue, there will be worsening impacts to supply chains in the weeks ahead.