US maritime chief Sola steps down

Sola’s departure comes at an historic inflection point as the Trump administration deploys an array of measures designed to elevate American shipping and shipbuilding. Those measures include controversial port fees and other charges aimed at blunting China’s maritime dominance.

Sola’s original term was five years and expired in 2023, but included two years of “carryover” in the event he wasn’t re-nominated, and that carryover period expires on June 30.

“It was always planned this way,” Sola told FreightWaves. “No surprises.”

After Sola’s departure, the five-member agency will comprise Democrats Dan Maffei and Max Vekich, and Republican Rebecca Dye, with two vacancies. It is not known who would be appointed as the next chairman.

Sola, an Indiana native and Army veteran, worked in military intelligence and later built a successful mega-yacht brokerage business in Florida. Sola in 2016 mounted an unsuccessful campaign to win a seat in Congress, a controversial election that saw both he and Democratic candidate Frederica Wilson removed from the ballot.

President Joe Biden re-nominated Sola to the agency in 2024.

As chairman, Sola led an FMC investigation into flags of convenience, the sometimes-sketchy commercial vessel registries, which resulted in the de-flagging of 140 sanctioned vessels. 

— with reporting by John Gallagher in Washington

This article was updated June 24 to include details of Sola’s term limits, and comments from the chairman.

Find more articles by Stuart Chirls here.

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