Table 2-3
Number of Licensed and/or Bonded Ocean Transportation Intermediaries (OTIs), 2000-2006

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SOURCE: Federal Maritime Commission, Office of Passenger Vessels and Information Processing, special tabulation, May 30, 2007.

• An ocean transportation intermediary (OTI) is an ocean freight forwarder or a non-vessel operating common carrier.
• An ocean freight forwarder is a person, in the United States, who dispatches shipments from the United States via a common carrier and books or otherwise arranges space for those shipments on behalf of shippers and processes the documentation or performs related activities to those shipments.
• A nonvessel operating common carrier is a common carrier that does not operate the vessels by which the ocean transportation is provided and is the shipper in its relationship with an ocean common carrier.
• All U.S.-based OTIs must be licensed by and demonstrate financial responsibility to the Federal Maritime Commission. U.S.-based OTIs can elect to offer freight forwarding services, nonvessel operating common carrier services, or both. The license issued by the Federal Maritime Commission indicates which services the OTI is licensed to perform. In addition to obtaining a license, all U.S.-based nonvessel operating common carriers must publish a tariff and notify the Federal Maritime Commission of the location of the tariff.
• All foreign-based nonvessel operating common carriers must demonstrate financial responsibility to the Federal Maritime Commission and publish a tariff. They can also elect to be licensed by the Federal Maritime Commission and publish a tariff.
• A list of all currently licensed and/or bonded OTIs can be found at: http://www.fmc.gov.