Gary Kardian recently retired from the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) after a 48 year career in the ocean shipping industry. He spent the last 13 years of his career at the FMC. For the first 12 years at the FMC he served as the Director of Office of Service Contracts & Tariffs and in his last year in the Office of Consumer Affairs & Dispute Resolution Services (CADRS) where he assisted many shippers primarily resolve demurrage and/or detention disputes. In addition, he served as the Export Expert to assist exporters as well as the Commission’s expert witness for Demurrage & Detention (D&D).

Prior to working at the FMC, he spent the first 35 years of his career in a variety of positions working for VOCCs including rate clerk, export manager, import manager, operations manager, sales associate, general manager, chartering manager and as assistance vice-president for a major shipping line. Gary earned various Carrier of the Year awards from beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) during his time working for ocean carriers as he had collaborated with them on their supply chains.

Mr. Kardian has assisted many beneficial cargo owners (BCOs), NVOCCs, VOCCs as well as maritime attorneys throughout the years at his time at the Commission with regulatory questions as well as addressing industry related issues. He has spoken to numerous industry groups as well as providing guidance to various U.S. government agencies.

The ocean shipping industry can be quite complex for BCOs and NVOCCs as they have to navigate various shipping lines, ports, terminals, regulatory requirements as well as intermodal movements. At times it can be rather undaunting but where do people turn to for guidance? Many people both within the Commission as well as outside referred to Mr. Kardian as “My go-to guy”, therefore if you have problems or want to be proactive with service contracts, demurrage and detention, FMC compliance, tariffs, chassis, or general industry questions, please feel free to contact him.