Remarks by

Captain William G. Schubert

Maritime Administrator

 

Third Annual Short Sea Shipping Conference

Hilton Hotel

New York, NY

 

October 13, 2004

 

 

Good afternoon. 

 

Let me begin by saying how pleased I am to be with you today.  I value the working relationship that I have developed in the past year with many of you here, and I welcome the opportunity to get to know better those of you whom I have only recently met.

 

As the Maritime Administrator, President Bush has charged me with strengthening the U.S. maritime transportation system to serve our expanding economy reliably and efficiently.  And MARAD’s Short Sea Shipping initiative shows great promise for advancing that charge.  Therefore, I am pleased to have this opportunity to update you on this initiative.

 

Over the past year, we have made some really significant inroads in promoting Short Sea Shipping.

 

Allow me to elaborate.  Three years ago, it was rare to encounter anyone—especially on Capitol Hill—who knew what Short Sea Shipping meant.  Today, Short Sea Shipping has become almost a household word—it was mentioned in the United States Coast Guard Authorization.

 

Developing the potential of Short Sea Shipping requires cooperation within the transportation community.  And we are accomplishing this. 

 

For example, last year at this time, our Short Sea Shipping Cooperative Program (SCOOP) was comprised of around 40 public and private industry partners. 

 

Today that number has increased to 65 associates and members, of whom 51 are full paying members.  These growing numbers indicate that more and more players in the transportation field are beginning to see Short Sea Shipping as a way to complement an overloaded surface transportation system, and a way to add capacity to our multi-modal transportation network.

 

We are looking closely at potential obstacles to short sea shipping - including tax policies - and analyzing what policy changes we might make to facilitate more short sea operations.

 

I appreciate the focus that SCOOP is giving to this issue, and I am very much looking forward to the comprehensive report on the national need for Short Sea Shipping.   This report will be helpful in identifying and implementing strategies on how to use our waterways to relieve congestion on our nation’s highways.  By working together to develop Short Sea Shipping, we can help ensure the stability of our economy and enhance our ability to compete in the global market. 

 

I want to express my heart-felt appreciation for the efforts of all our colleagues at SCOOP, and am proud to be able to present SCOOP with a check for $50,000 as our good faith contribution for their ongoing efforts to promote our Short Sea Shipping initiative.

 

We at MARAD are optimistic.  We believe we are ready—and able—to reduce the gridlock on our nation’s major highways by using our “National Water Highway System” to work in a true intermodal partnership.  And we are fortunate to have a President who embraces this challenge and has put together a knowledgeable team to advance it.

 

Leading that team is Secretary Mineta, who has long emphasized the importance of the maritime sector to our national intermodal transportation system.   From the day that he arrived, the Secretary has challenged all of us to think creatively about better ways to integrate the maritime component into our transportation infrastructure.

 

The SEA-21 review that Secretary Mineta launched earlier this year began with a comprehensive assessment of how we could improve our maritime transportation system to move commercial goods more effectively, efficiently, and safely.

 

As it is currently envisioned, at least within our Department, a SEA-21 package would pave the way for a more competitive and efficient maritime sector and improve connections between the various modes. 

 

I am very excited about the role that Short Sea Shipping can play in this transformation.  The Short Sea Shipping component has great potential to ease the congestion on the highways, airways, and railways in the State of New York and across our entire nation.  You can imagine what that would mean for the heavily traveled  I-95 corridor, for example.

 

Congestion on our highways affects America’s economy, security, and quality of life.  Short Sea Shipping offers an affordable alternative.  Using our incredible system of waterways—an efficient, environmentally-friendly transportation system, one that will support our economic growth far into the future—only makes sense.

 

That’s why Short Sea Shipping is a policy priority at the highest levels of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

 

That’s why MARAD developed a study of European Union Short Sea development.

 

And that’s why MARAD executed a Memorandum of Agreement on SSS with Canada and Mexico.

 

We are on the cusp of an important change in the way we move goods across this country. 

 

We are not strangers to change.  Years ago, we changed the maritime industry by implementing the Maritime Act.  We know how to change.  We know what needs to be done.  And what we need to do now is to move forward with our Short Sea Shipping initiative.

 

We are ready to meet the challenges of future freight demands.  We are ready to create a true intermodal partnership of highways, railroads, coastwise sea lanes, and inland waterways to improve all facets of life for American citizens.  And we are now ready to use our “National Water Highway System” so our economy will continue to thrive and remain competitive in the decades to come.

 

Short Sea Shipping is the Wave of America’s Future.  It clearly reflects our President’s commitment to a strong economy and the creation of more jobs for American citizens.

 

I urge all of you to lend your vision and your time to this effort so that we can re-shape America’s transportation system in ways that enable us to sail smoothly, effortlessly, and efficiently into the future.

 

On behalf of the Bush Administration and MARAD, I thank you for the opportunity to meet with you today.

 

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