Conference Ends With Call to Action

A star-spangled audience of industry and trade group executives, government officials and maritime professionals attended the inaugural MarEx-sponsored “Revitalizing the Maritime Industry” forum this week. The confab was held on May 7-8 at the Conference Center at the Maritime Institute of Technology outside Baltimore, a facility noted for its first-rate facilities and convenient location. It was a kickoff to National Maritime Week, which included the “Salute to Congress” Dinner on May 8 and the Third Annual Congressional Sail-In on May 9, during which industry representatives made their case to members of Congress.

The agenda of the conference was clear from the outset when MarEx Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Tony Munoz said it was time for the industry to stand up and make itself heard in Washington and elsewhere before the nation’s maritime heritage was lost entirely and it was too late. Former Acting MarAd Administrator John Graykowski put the situation bluntly: “The outlook is not as bright as we’d like.” He saluted MarEx for taking the lead in the effort to bring the industry together in defense of the Jones Act and in support of additional funding for America’s Marine Highway and other maritime initiatives, a theme echoed by many of the conference participants.

Joe Cox (pictured left) of the Chamber of Shipping of America put it this way: “If you ask someone if they want to fly from one U.S. city to another on an American airline, the answer you get is ‘Of course.’ Same thing with shipping. So why is there any issue with the Jones Act?” He added that one of the major challenges facing the domestic industry was legislation that varied from one state to another regarding ballast water and emission standards. He called for uniform standards at the federal level. “The key is to recognize our problems. Then we can solve them,” he added.

Maritime lobbyist Paul Bea (pictured right with Mark Yonge) urged the establishment of “Short Sea Promotion Centers” and suggested bringing other parties to the table, such as the oil and gas industry, which has a vested interest in the well-being of shipping. If LNG is going to play an important role in America’s and the world’s energy future, then the maritime industry will become more important than ever. The American public needs to be convinced of the environmental and fuel-economy benefits of shipping as opposed to other modes of transportation.

Long-time Maryland congresswoman Helen Delich Bentley (pictured left) regaled luncheon attendees on day one with her outspokenness. “What in the hell would we do without the Jones Act,” she asked. A great defender of the industry not only during her years in Congress but throughout her career, she pointed out that “the industry has never been united on anything” and that it needs a well-organized coalition to get legislation passed in Washington. She noted that the port of Baltimore built the city of Baltimore and not the other way around, and that the port has had 50-foot channels (one of only two on the East Coast suitable for expanded Panama Canal vessels) since 1989 because she worked for 20 years to get it done. She received a standing ovation.

There were frequent calls for a statement from Washington on U.S. maritime policy. We need “stare decisis” on the Jones Act, said Tom Allegretti of American Waterways Operators, showing both his knowledge of Latin (“Let the legislation stand”) and the need for reaffirmation by the Administration that the Act is indeed official U.S. policy. That’s the first step. Then we need funding, an authorization bill that will help fund America’s Marine Highway and the vessels needed to make it a reality. If we get this, then everything else will follow. American banks and American companies will step up and do the rest.

Mike Toohey of the Waterways Council pointed out the aging nature of many of the locks and dams along America’s inland waterways and the need for additional funding to make them right. He said the industry needs to work at the local level (“because members of Congress pay attention to what’s going on at home”) to generate widespread public support for maritime as a vital transportation mode. He suggested meeting with local editorial boards and compared the outreach effort to a three-legged stool with government/industry/media united on the vital role the maritime industry has to play and the connection between infrastructure investment and jobs. “Once the public is convinced, Washington will listen,” he noted.

Dinner speaker John Porcari, Deputy Secretary of Transportation, said that by 2050 the nation’s highways and rails will be so clogged trying to meet the needs of an additional 100 million people that the only alternative left will be maritime. “We have to put maritime on an equal footing with truck and rail,” he stated, “and to get that done we need a national freight policy. You have to help by making your case to Congress and the American people.”

Day Two

Day two of the conference began with a screening of the Tom Hanks-produced video “Boatlift,” which documented the evacuation of 500,000 people from downtown New York on that terrible day in September when the Twin Towers came down. It was the largest evacuation in history and proved once again that America is a maritime nation and must do everything possible to maintain its maritime heritage. Jonathan Kaskin of the Navy Department followed with an update of the Dual-Use Vessel Program on a panel chaired by the dean of American maritime authorities, Clay Cook (pictured right). Eleven vessel designs have been reduced to three and the Department, together with MarAd, is evaluating the three finalists with a report expected next month. An investment of $1 billion over five years is needed to build the first 10 vessels, and the Navy wants them beginning in 2016.

MIT Professor Henry Marcus said the next step is to put together a legislative package with the following components:

• Exempt the America’s Marine Highway Program from the Harbor Maintenance Tax
• Modify the tonnage tax
• Modify the Capital Construction Fund to make it available
• Provide mortgage guarantees more friendly than the existing Title XI Program, and
• Authorize $300 million for the first 10 ships.

Luncheon speaker Sean Connaughton (pictured left), former MarAd Administrator and now Secretary of Transportation for the state of Virginia, urged attendees to come together with a united vision and make their case known. He pointed out that adding one more lane on already congested I-64 in Virginia would cost $2-3 billion. Think what the industry could do with that kind of money!

The final panel of the day and of the conference emphasized the need to shape public opinion and mold the maritime leaders of tomorrow. Captain Arthur Sulzer of the Maritime for Primary & Secondary Education Coalition spoke of the importance of reaching students at an early age so they are aware of the maritime profession and the jobs available. Dione Lee of QSE Solutions in Seattle emphasized partnerships and the success she has had working with state agencies in the state of Washington to promote maritime projects and training.

The message throughout the conference was loud and clear: The industry needs to get its act together and work at the local, state and national levels to promote the benefits of America’s Marine Highway as a practical, efficient, and environmentally friendly alternative to road and rail congestion – indeed, as the only alternative available since there will be no capacity left on the roads and rails by 2050. Tony Munoz brought the conference to a rousing close by saying this is only the first step and the effort will continue in the weeks and months ahead.