The U.S. Marine Transportation System

This article is an overview of the Marine Transportation System (MTS) and U.S. federal responsibilities, funding, and coordination. Even more than other parts of the nation's transportation system, marine transportation is a joint private and public sector enterprise. The private sector owns and operates vessels and most of the terminals, and is responsible for the commerce that flows through the system. The public sector provides much of the MTS infrastructure, and responsibilities are carried out by many federal agencies. In addition, several congressional committees and subcommittees have jurisdiction over parts of the MTS. To improve federal coordination and policies that impact the MTS, the Cabinet-level Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS) was created in 2004.