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The 55th Annual Convention of The Propeller Club of the United States, and the concurrent 1981 American Merchant Marine Con- ference, will be held in Baltimore, Md., on October 14, 15, and 16. Headquarters hotel for the event, which is being hosted by the Pro- peller Club Port of Baltimore, is the Baltimore Hilton Hotel. General Chairman of the Con- vention is William J. Detweiler, president of the Steamship Trade Association of Baltimore; Thom- as J. Murphy Jr., president of The Baker-Whiteley Towing Com- pany, is Conference Chairman. The theme for this year's Con- vention and Conference is "The American Merchant Marine—An Imperiled Lifeline." Preconvention activities include a golf and tennis tournament at the Sparrows Point Country Club on October 12 and an early ar- rivals reception at the National Aquarium on October 13 at 6 p.m. The "positions" that will be voted on during the convention include the following: The Propeller Club of the United States strongly supports the maritime objectives enunci- ated by President Reagan prior to his election, including his sev- en-point program. That program calls for the preservation of our shipbuilding mobilization base, increased military support func- tions for the merchant marine, the assurance of an equitable share of U.S. trade for our ves- sels, the restoration of cost-com- petitiveness to our fleet, a coher- ent national policy for the U.S. water transportation system, re- view of regulatory requirements which inhibit American compet- itiveness, and recognition of the importance of the sea on our eco- nomic vitality, national defense, and foreign policy. The Propeller Club considers these objectives essential to the nation's future and calls upon the Government and industry to work coopera- tively for achievement of those goals. Position No. 2 calls for an ef- fective approach for maritime legislative and regulatory reform. The Propeller Club recognizes that, both in tonnage and num- ber of ships, our merchant ma- rine is below that needed for our commercial requirements and na- tional defense. Further, some of the problems of our merchant fleet are attributable in appreci- able measure to our failure to update our maritime laws and regulatory controls. In addition, the omnibus approach attempted in the 96th Congress proved to be, perhaps, too ambitious and failed of success for that reason. The Propeller Club believes that (continued on page 28) Baltimore City and the Port of Baltimore, looking east over the inner harbor. 26 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
