The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) of the United States has opened an investigation into Spain’s alleged refusal to American freighters stop at their ports and has warned that it will impose “important corrective measures” – with fines of up to $2.3 million per trip – if it is found “harmful effects” for maritime transport as a consequence of the aforementioned prohibition.
Spain would have “denied entry to certain vessels on at least three separate occasions this year, the two most recent cases affecting vessels flying the US flag,” according to the Commission, whose investigation will begin with a period of twenty days for the collection of information and in which “the public (may) present their observations.”
In this sense, the FMC has warned that, if the investigation confirms Spanish interference in US foreign trade, sanctions could range from “substantial daily fines” to “prohibiting foreign ships from docking in American ports.”
This announcement comes after the Government of Spain denied the scale at the beginning of November in the port of Algeciras, in Cádiz, to two cargo ships from the United States loaded with weapons for Israel.
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