LEGISLATION UPDATE
Industry Leaders Meet To
Discuss Maritime Policy,
Commercialization
By Greg Trauthwein, managing editor
"There is going to be a huge ship-
building boom in the world, and we
(the U.S.) need to be a part of this
boom," said John Stocker, presi-
dent of the Shipbuilders Council of
America. Mr. Stocker was a mem-
ber of a group of industry leaders
which met to discuss the issues and
legislation, or lack thereof, which
will shape the U.S. maritime indus-
try for the duration of the decade.
Sponsored by the Containeriza-
tion & Intermodal Institute, mari-
time leaders convened recently at
the National Press Club in Wash-
ington, D.C. for a half-day confer-
ence entitled "U.S. Maritime Policy:
The Last Chance To Get It Right."
Cosponsored by the Virginia Port
Authority and the Virginia Interna-
tional Terminals, the conference fea-
tured speakers from various facets
of the industry, including govern-
ment, owner/operators, military and
building interests.
While Mr. Stocker's views, that
the health of the U.S. shipbuilding
industry is dependent on the ability
to market the product to the inter-
national community, are shared by
many, the views on what action is
necessary vary wildly.
So naturally, the topics discussed
during the afternoon were wide-
ranging.
For example, Cathleen
Magennis, Secretary of Commerce
and Trade for the Commonwealth of
Virginia, expressed concern over
shrinking DOD funds, as 'Virginia
receives more Department of De-
fense funds per capita than any other
USCG, Associations Balk At
Mandatory Documentation
For Inland Waterways
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG),
American Waterways Operators
(AWO) and the Passenger Vessel
Association (PVA) told a House panel
that proposed legislation which ex-
pands the requirement for merchant
mariner documents to include per-
sonnel employed on tugs, towboats,
and barges of five-gt and more, would
not necessarily result in the desired
ends of safety and pollution preven-
tion.
The legislation, H.R. 1915, would
require not only vessel-operating
personnel to carry so-called Mer-
October, 1993 35
state." She cited many cures for the
current maritime ills, including the
proposed center for advanced
shiprepair, which is up for consider-
ation for DOD Advanced Research
Projects Agency (ARPA) funding,
and is a concept hatched between
the State of Virginia, the city of
Norfolk, Old Dominion University
and the South Tidewater Associa-
tion of Ship Repairers in the Hamp-
ton Roads area. The center would be
used to study and recommend prac-
tices for the use of technology, to
enable U.S. yards to increase cost
effectiveness, as well as environ-
mental compliance, she said.
Ms. Magennis said that the
project wouldnotonlypositionbuild-
ers to be more competitive commer-
cially, it would also be the first step
of an important journey, a journey
to provide the U.S. maritime indus-
try with a center for hydrodynamic
research.
Meanwhile, an aide for Congress-
man Herbert Bateman (R-Va.) ex-
pressed concern about the
administration's proposals to repeal
cornerstone maritime legislation,
including the Jones Act, and called
for the passage of a bill which would
allow Title XI loans for shipbuild-
ing. Conversely, Robert Quartel,
a former Federal Maritime commis-
sioner, and now president of the
U.S. Shipbuilding Consortium, be-
lieves less government involvement
is the route to success. He contested
that "the U.S. Coast Guard and sub-
sidies are not the demise of commer-
cial shipbuilding, they are excuses."
chant Mariner Documents, but, in
the passenger vessel industry, would
also require hotel personnel, enter-
tainers, cooks and other to carry
permits before they could work
onboard inland-operated vessels.
"It is government regulation for
no reason," said Eric Scharf, the
PVA's executive director. "Its costly
requirements respond to no identifi-
able public need, either on the part
of the government or the industries
upon which it is imposed."
In real terms, H.R. 1915 would
require the USCG to document an
additional 30,000 workers annually,
at an estimated cost of $500,000. It
will also require the hiring of 13
more employees to administer the
proposed documentation require-
ments.
Mr. Scharf sharply criticized the
cost of the bill, to private industry
and to the government. According
to industry observers, the passen-
ger vessel industry alone would re-
quire 3,000 to 5,000 additional cards
at a minimum processing cost of $52
per card.
National Performance
Calls For The Formation Of
Maritime Commission
Based on early drafts of Vice
President Gore's National Perfor-
mance Review (NPR), many in the
maritime industry were concerned
the report would suggest the elimi-
nation of such industry staples as
the Jones Act and the Passenger
Service Act.
Adm. Herberger Sworn In
As Maritime Administrator
On September 14 Adm. Albert
J. Herberger was formally sworn
in as Administrator of the Maritime
Administration by Secretary of
Transportation Federico Pena. A
graduate of the U.S. Merchant Ma-
rine Academy, Adm. Herberger
served in the American merchant
marine early in his career and in
the U.S. Navy for 32 years.
• Parker Towing Co. Applies
For Financing
MarAd has received an applica-
tion from Parker Towing Company,
Inc. of Tuscaloosa, Ala. for a ship
financing guarantee to aid in refi-
nancing the Title XI guaranteed debt
on 90 existing vessels which includes
83 barges and seven tugs. The ves-
sels, which operate in the U.S. in-
land waterway system, were deliv-
ered between 1973 and 1982. If
approved, the Title XI guarantee
would cover $9.4 million.
• Oglebay Norton Applies For
Title Ship Financing
MarAd has received an applica-
tion from Oglebay Norton Co. of
Cleveland for a Title ship financing
guarantee to aid in refinancing the
Title XI guaranteed debt on the
Columbia Star, a Great Lakes die-
sel, self-propelled bulk cargo vessel.
The vessel was built by Bay Ship-
However, after its release on Sep-
tember 7, the recommendations for
the maritime industry is a sugges-
tion to establish an independent com-
mission to review the U.S. maritime
industry with a detailed examina-
tion of the future of the industry in
the U.S. and the benefits derived by
the taxpayers from maritime subsi-
dies.
The report from vice president
Gore also recommends guaranteed
reemployment rights to U.S. seafar-
ers at their private sector jobs if
called to serve during war or na-
tional emergency, and a 50 percent
cut in federal funding for the U.S.
Merchant Marine Academy. At press
time the House Merchant Marine
Subcommittee on Merchant Marine
is scheduled to mark up draft legis-
lation to create the National Com-
mission to Ensure a Strong and Com-
petitive U.S. Maritime Industry.
building Corp. of Sturgeon Bay, Wis.,
and if approved, the Title XI guaran-
tee would cover $18.75 million.
• APL Granted Permission To
Operate Feeder
MarAd has given American Presi-
dent Lines, Ltd. permission to oper-
ate a second foreign-flag feeder ves-
sel between Singapore and Indone-
sia. Under the approval, APL may
add a vessel with a capacity of 300
40-foot containers, or equivalent, to
its service.
• Bethlehem Steel Wins
$1.9 Million Contract
MarAd awarded a $1.9 million
contract to Bethlehem Steel's Spar-
rows Point, Md. facility for topside
repairs to the Ready Reserve Force
vessel GTS Admiral Callaghan, in-
cluding voyage repairs and hatch
cover upgrades. The work will in-
clude repairs to the tank and cargo
holds, the main weather deck, hatch
cover modifications, vehicle ramp
repairs and installation of a marine
sewage treatment plant.
• Eastern Overseas Requests
Permission To Sell Tanker
MarAd has received an applica-
tion from Eastern Overseas, Inc. of
Port Washington, N.Y. for permis-
sion to sell the 41,993-dwt tanker
(Continued on page 36)
35
Maritime Administration News
Digital Wave Publishing