Feature 3 | NORTH AMERICA MARAD gets tough
The United States Department for Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) has established a strategic plan to address the environmental challenges posed by increasing vessel traffic in the USA.
maritime policies and programmes to, “enrich and secure the nation; enhance the current US intermodal transportation system; expand reliable private and public investment funding mechanisms to support the growth of the marine transportation system, and invigorate the partnerships between MARAD and the marine transportation system’s public and private stakeholders”. MARAD aims to meet the five main
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strategic goals by implementing the changes illustrated in this feature.
Improving maritime policy The Agency has to increase the capacity for an environmentally-sustainable transportation system and operations. It believes this is possible by completing some of
the objectives stated in the US joins Annex VI
The USA has become the 53rd country to ratify Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), with the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
Annex VI, adopted in 1997 and entered into force in May 2005, regulates the discharge of atmospheric pollutants from ships. This is the first time that limits on sulphur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from ship exhausts have been set, deliberate emissions of ozone-depleting substances prohibited and a global cap put on the sulphur content of fuel oil. The changes were due in part to the Torrey Canyon disaster of 1967 that focused the world’s attention on environmental dangers caused by the growth in tanker traffic. The Torrey Canyon ran aground while entering the English Channel and spilled her entire cargo of 120,000tons of crude oil into the sea. In response to this the IMO embarked on adopting the international convention known today as MARPOL.
Nowadays MARPOL has six separate annexes, which set out regulations dealing with pollution from ships by oil; noxious liquid substances carried in bulk; harmful substances carried by sea in packaged form, sewage and waste and with the prevention of air pollution from ships.
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s part of a five-year strategic plan, “Leading the future 2008-2013”, MARAD aims
to improve strategic plan, such as:
• reducing the carbon footprint and increasing the energy efficiency of the
• promoting the safe and secure transportation of liquefied natural
transportation system by advocating the use of water transportation as supposed to transport;
land-based freight • minimising the impact of
gas and oil through the utilisation of US-flag ships and crew members in the deepwater licensing process;
lifecycle
waste in ship design, vessel building; • the implementation of
recycling
• providing leadership on improving federal policy regarding marine air
standards for best practice, developed from experience gained from the National Defense Reserve Fleet’s obsolete ship disposal programme; and
emissions, invasive species, ballast water and other environmental issues.
Other ways that MARAD aims to
achieve the goal are by improving the emergency system response and defence mobilisation. It believes that this can be achieved by enhancing the capability and effectiveness of the Maritime Administration’s vessels and programmes to ensure that sealift capacity meets the national security requirements in the most efficient and effective way possible. It also believes that by working with federal, state and local emergency responders to ensure the use of MARAD and commercial vessels in future events to enhance joint planning, they can partly meet this goal. One of the ways that MARAD aims
to “reduce impediments to US domestic and international trades” is by increasing its participation in bi-lateral and international trade negotiations. It aims to expand maritime jobs and workforce by implementing new recruitment and training programmes to meet shipyard demands for a skilled workforce.
Investment for growth MARAD’s
second strategic goal, “to
expand reliable private and public investment funding mechanisms to support the growth of the Marine Transportation System”, has a number of strategic objectives attached to it. MARAD aims to increase private sector funding and investment in the Marine Transportation System, target public sector funding towards projects that are of national significance, increase investment in research and development (R&D) and increase cooperation with partner agencies, such as Military Sealift Command. The Maritime Administration aims
to continue to collaborate with Marine Transportation System stakeholders on a regular basis to ensure that partnerships are strong; in some part by
the Ship & Boat International November/December 2008
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