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| Funding For MSP In 2002 Appears
To Be Secured |
| Congress Opts To Keep Program With MARAD, Not DOD |
| The Maritime
Security Program (MSP), which offsets operating expenses for 47
U.S.-flag cargo ships, appears secure in both funding and management
for 2002. At presstime, the Maritime Administration's (MARAD) budget had cleared the House and Senate and was slated for conference committee. The approximately $98 million in annual funding for the MSP did not appear to be an issue, according reports from Washington. MARAD will continue to administer the MSP, although the Bush Administration earlier in the year proposed moving management of the program to the Department of Defense. The proposal garnered little support in Congress and MARAD's operations were funded by both the House and Senate under the Department of Transportation. The MSP provides approximately $2 million per year to each of 47 commercial U.S.-flag cargo ships to offset the expense of complying with U.S. maritime laws while competing in international trades against flag-of-convenience ship operators. In exchange, the ships and the seafarers that work aboard them are available to the U.S. military for sealift support operations during conflicts and times of war. The program has been touted by military and political leaders as a great success that saves tax dollars. If the government were to build and maintain the ships participating in the MSP itself, the cost would be significantly greater. American Maritime Officers fills the licensed positions aboard seven of the 47 ships, the Maersk containerships California, Colorado, Texas and Tennessee, and the car carriers Faust, Fidelio and Tanabata. |
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