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60 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • NOVEMBER 2014 WORKBOAT ANNUAL Washington and its support of the ship construction and repair sector today. Actually, I think today we have strong support from Congress. When we lost longtime maritime champions years ago such as Sen. Daniel Inouye, Sen. Ted Stevens, Congressmen Ike Skelton and Jim Oberstar, there was a void that needed to be ? lled. Many Members have stepped up, including members like Sen. Mary Landrieu, who hold important as- signments such as chair of the Energy and Natural Resource Committee and on the Appropriations Committee. On the House side Congressmen Rob Wit- tman and Joe Courtney have led an ac- tive and vocal shipbuilding caucus, and Congressmen Duncan Hunter and John Garamendi have been strong proponents of a national maritime strategy. On the administration side, Maritime Adminis- trator Chip Jaenichen has been a breath of fresh air, and is doing a lot to increase the visibility of maritime within the De- partment of Transportation. Legislatively, what is on the horizon that either gives SCA cause for hope or cause for concern in the coming year? Certainly sequestration, which I mentioned previously, is still a major long-term issue that needs to be ad- dressed. So too does the funding structure for the Ohio Class submarine replace- ment program. SCA is always encourag- ing support for the Jones Act, which is the foundation of the commercial world. We do not perceive any credible threats; however there are always efforts to nip at the edges of the law, which we will con- tinue to vigorously ? ght. Legislatively, it looks like we’re headed for another con- tinuing resolution going into the new ? s- cal year. This has unfortunately become the norm of late, but it makes it very dif- ? cult for shipbuilders, repairers and sup- pliers of government vessels to make the most ef? cient plans, purchases and hires without knowing how much and when funding will become available to them. From where you sit, on the commer- cial shipbuilding side of the ledger, what are the drivers for increased business today? There are several drivers in- cluding a return to normalcy in offshore Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas devel- opment, the domestic oil shale and gas boom, and the looming environmental regulations called emission control areas that are forcing some to recapitalize their “On the administration side, Maritime Administrator Chip Jaenichen has been a breath of fresh air, and is doing a lot to increase the visibility of maritime within the Department of Transportation.” Matthew Paxton The LNG Revolution has driven shipbuilding in the U.S. Here, NASSCO engineers placed the world’s fi rst dual-fuel slow speed engine into the World’s First Liquefi ed Natural Gas (LNG) powered containership. Doosan Engine built the 8L70ME- C8.2GI under license from the designer MAN Diesel and Turbo. The engine, which weighs 539 tons is being placed in the fi rst Marlin Class ship for TOTE. Photo: MarAd Photo: TOTE MR #11 (58-65).indd 60 10/30/2014 10:06:42 AM
