Louis E. Sola

Louis Ernest Sola (born January 8, 1968) is an American businessman and politician, who is currently Commissioner of the Federal Maritime Commission. Sola currently works under Chairman Daniel B. Maffei and alongside Commissioners Rebecca F. Dye, Max Vekich and Carl Bentzel.

On November 15, 2018, Sola was nominated to the Federal Maritime Commission by President Donald Trump and was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 2, 2019. He was sworn into office on January 23, 2019, during the government shutdown for a 5-year term expiring June 30, 2023. The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 provided Sola up to two years holdover period to be replaced or renominated. President Joe Biden renominated Sola to the Federal Maritime Commission on July 11th, 2024 and sent his nomination to the United States Senate the same day.

Sola was distinguished by the Panama Canal with the "Esteemed Order Bearers of the Master Key" and appointed him "Honorary Lead Pilot". In addition, he was bestowed the 2021 Seatrade Cruise Man of the Year for his work supporting seafarers during the Covid 19 pandemic.

Sola previously served as a Florida State Commissioner on the Board of Harbor Pilots where he chaired the probable cause panel for maritime incidents.

Commissioner Sola was honored by Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners in recognition of his lifelong commitment to public service and promoting vaccines for non-US crew members during the Covid-19 pandemic by receiving the Keys to the County and proclaimed June 18, 2024 – Commissioner Louis E. Sola Day.

Early life and education
Sola was born in Chicago, IL, and was raised in Goodland, Indiana, and the Panama Canal Zone. He received an A.A. in History from Parkland College, where he addressed the 2022 commencement ceremony as the Distinguished Alumni. He received a B.S. in Management from the Nova Southeastern University in 1996; and a M.S. in International Finance from the University of Illinois in 1998. He is a two-time graduate (in Spanish and German) of the Defense Language Institute, Foreign Language Center, located at the Presidio of Monterey, CA.

Early career
Sola served on the Florida Board of Pilots Commissioners where he was responsible for licensing and regulating harbor pilots. He also served on the probable cause panel for maritime incidents. Previously, he was a Sales Executive with Camper & Nicholsons (Fincantieri), Northrop Grumman, and Azimut Benetti. He is a licensed International Ship and Yacht Broker who has constructed over 125 new yachts and ships and is the founder of Evermarine, a Miami based mega yacht brokerage company. Additionally, he served as an Adjunct Professor at Florida State University.

Sola also worked as a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank during the United States handover of the Panama Canal.

Military career
Sola served as a Strategic Debriefer for the United States Army Intelligence and Security Command in Munich, Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall by strategically debriefing refugees from Eastern Europe. Subsequently, he served in Counterintelligence and Counter Narcotics missions in Panama with the United States Southern Command, commanded by future Drug Czar General Barry McCaffrey, during the War on Drugs and the fall of Pablo Escobar. Sola earned the US Army Parachutist Badge (Airborne) and was awarded the Humanitarian Service Medal for his efforts during the 1994 Cuban rafter crisis. His accounts of the resilience of the Cuban people where latter recounted in the Financial Times.

Politics
Sola previously ran for the United States House of Representatives seat for Florida's 24th congressional district as a Republican political candidate against Democratic Representative Frederica Wilson. Both candidates were removed from the ballot which was cited as a factor that led to the 2018 U.S. Florida Senate election recount. Sola has publicly stated he will not run for Florida's 26th congressional district in 2020. Sola would have been one of the wealthiest members of the United States Congress according to his financial public disclosure. Sola has been featured in the media as a conservative donor and as an early supporter of Donald Trump in 2016.

Federal Maritime Commission
On April 30, 2020, the Federal Maritime Commission appointed Commissioner Sola to lead "Fact Finding 30," a federal fact-finding investigation on the impacts of COVID-19 on the cruise industry. This investigation focused on cruise line performance, ticket refund policy, and the economic impacts of the CDC No Sail Order. Sola recommended an "urgent need for ships to start sailing again" due to the economic impacts on the nation's ports, local governments, and small businesses.

On March 25, 2021, Sola published his cruise-forward plan for resumption of cruising focusing upon shore side, crew and passenger vaccinations, while at the same time calling on President Biden to donate vaccines with Caribbean and Central American cruise ports. Due to the Canadian ban on cruise ships through 2022, Sola called for modification of the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886 that require cruise ships to stop at a foreign port before calling again on a US port, that eventually became the Alaska Tourism Act. Sola also proposed federal consumer protection rule changes to standardize refund practices in the cruise industry in order to protect passengers from cancellations. In an interview with CNBC concerning cruise line mandates for passengers to have Covid-19 vaccinations before boarding, Sola stated, “I feel much safer on a cruise ship than I do flying." Commissioner Sola dedicated his Seatrade Outstanding Achievement Award to seafarers and crew members, saying 'Without them, we wouldn't be here.'

Sola has been active advocating for the reduction of Green House Gases in maritime transport through greater efficiency and the use of alternate marine fuels by reaching out to stakeholders and government to form an Alternate Marine Fuels Challenge to reduce emissions. In an open letter to US President Joe Biden, Federal Maritime Commissioner Louis Sola has called for the private sector to form an alternative marine fuel coalition ‘to determine the appropriate standards and benchmarks for seeking progress in decarbonisation’, which should also receive government financial support.