Michael G. Roberts is a senior fellow with the Hudson Institute’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology and a nonresident senior fellow with the Center for Maritime Strategy of the Navy League of the United States. Mr. Roberts founded and directs the American Maritime Security Initiative, which is focused on the national and economic security concerns raised by China’s growing dominance of the commercial maritime industry.
Mr. Roberts first became involved in transportation regulatory issues in 1979 when he was assigned to the Transportation Section of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. He has remained involved in transportation legal and policy issues for most of his career as a lawyer and lobbyist in Washington, DC. Roberts was a senior executive with a leading American shipping company, serving from 2008 as general counsel and leadership team member for Crowley Maritime Corp. Roberts’s responsibilities included liaising with the Pentagon, Coast Guard, Maritime Administration, and other government agencies on maritime security matters. He also served as president of the American Maritime Partnership, a leading maritime trade organization, for two years through the end of 2021.