Introduction to Marine Terminal Operators (MTOs)

Under the Shipping Act of 1984, the FMC regulates certain activities of Marine Terminal Operators (MTOs).  In order, to understand who qualifies as a marine terminal operator subject to that regulation, it is helpful first to clarify three related entities: (1) Ports, (2) Public Port Authorities, and (3) Marine Terminals.

• Port:  ""Port"" is a geographic term referring to a harbor with piers or docks where ships can load and unload cargo.
  
• Public Port Authority:  Most major port facilities in the are publicly owned and maintained by multi-state, state, county, district or other public or quasi-public organizations that are commonly referred to as ""public port authorities.""  These are the agencies responsible for the overall administration of the property, terminals and other facilities at a public port. 
  
• Marine Terminal:  A terminal is an assigned area with facilities for loading and unloading the cargo or passengers (for cruise lines) of various types of vessels. Typically a marine terminal will also be where cargo is received, stored, and later distributed to sites outside the port. Different kinds of cargo are handled at different kinds of terminals.  For example, bulk cargoes such as coal, grain, and petroleum require highly specialized facilities for their handling, while general cargo (including containerized cargo) requires adequate crane service and appropriate storage areas.

Under the Shipping Act of 1984, the FMC regulates certain practices of the entities that operate marine terminals.  These entities, designated ""marine terminal operators,"" are defined as parties in the that offer terminal services - that is, parties engaged in  ""the business of furnishing wharfage, dock, warehouse or other terminal facilities,"" to ocean common carriers in foreign commerce.  In practice, that definition covers three sorts of MTOs:

• Public port authorities – These qualify as MTOs because they own and maintain the docks and other facilities that ocean common carriers use, and because they sometimes directly operate the terminals as well.

• Private terminal operators – These are companies that, typically, lease terminals from a public port authority (which acts as landlord) and operate those terminals as a private business that serves ocean common carriers calling at the port.

• MTO Conferences -- These are regulated organizations, called MTO ""agreements,"" of multiple MTOs (port authorities, private MTOs, or both), usually composed of MTOs operating in a single port, or of MTOs from several ports within a single state (such as California) or across a multi-state U.S. coastal range (such as the U.S. Gulf coast).

The FMC's regulations apply to two particular MTO activities:

• The publication of MTO rates, regulations, and other practices in MTO Schedules,(formerly called ""MTO tariffs""); and

• Agreements among MTOs, or between MTOs and ocean carriers, to discuss, fix, or regulate rates or other conditions of service in foreign commerce. 

Additional details on MTOs, MTO Regulations, and MTO Agreements can be found through the FMC's Bureau of Trade Analysis.  If you need further assistance, please contact the Office of Agreements for MTO Agreement matters and the Office of Service Contracts and Tariffs for MTO schedule information.