U. S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System

The U. S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS) is a Federal maritime policy coordinating committee consisting of fourteen Cabinet Secretaries. By charter, the CMTS is chaired by the Secretary of Transportation. The CMTS was stood-up in response to a directive in the U. S. Ocean Action Plan of 2004, and established by Congress in the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012, codified at 46 U. S. C. § 50401. The purpose of the CMTS is to (1) continually assess the adequacy of the marine transportation system (including ports, waterways, channels, and their intermodal connections); (2) promote the integration of the marine transportation system with other modes of transportation and other uses of the marine environment; and (3) coordinate, improve the coordination of, and make recommendations with regard to Federal policies that impact the marine transportation system. As set forth in the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-281 § 307(c), the CMTS is also responsible for coordinating the establishment of domestic transportation policies in the Arctic in order to ensure safe and secure maritime shipping in the Arctic.