Marine Log - July 2008 - (Page 13)

BY CHARLES G. RAYMOND COASTALSHIPPING Cross Roads E ARE AT A CROSS ROADS. The underlying cost of supporting the world’s expanding global economy can no longer be avoided or delayed. Transportation infrastructure worldwide is straining. Here in the United States, where a vast majority of the world’s goods are destined for delivery, we can see the effects. Infrastructure deteriorating. Fuel costs more than doubling. Traffic congestion worsening and costing the economy more than $200 billion annually. Ocean carriers pulling out of the intermodal services market all together. These are real challenges requiring real solutions. It is no minor oversight that Tom Friedman’s seminal book on globalization, The World is Flat, addresses logistics as a mere sidebar to advances in information technology and business process change. The information technology revolution has reached a plateau. We are at a crossroads, and at the crossroads of the global economy today, you find logistics. The very real business of moving real things on highways, trains, ships and airplanes that are subject to the very real laws of physics. Simply stated, the global economy will grow only as fast as we are physically able to carry it. How will we continue www.marinelog.com At The W to carry the load? We can no longer wait for the one answer, because there is no single answer—only many different answers that will form the working components of a future American transportation system. Answers that will require hard work from all of us on the ground, at sea, and on the road. THE MARINE HIGHWAY One of those answers is our nation’s Marine Highway. We have looked at the studies and researched the figures. Led by the Honorable Sean Connaughton, MarAd has made a strong case to lawmakers and been well received. Everyone agrees: The U.S. Marine Highway makes sense. We have asked legislators and policy makers to support the Marine Highway. We have received a warm welcome, but little action. Still, we have no real movement on HMT or Title XI. With a presidential election in November, we can expect more of the same until the 111th Congress convenes in January 2009. LEGISLATION Progress has been made this year, perhaps not as much action as I would like, but clearly MarAd has helped awaken Washington to short sea shipping. Several bills have been proposed on the Hill concerning the Harbor Maintenance Tax (HMT). In December, The President signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which includes several sections calling for the establishment of a Short Sea Shipping program within DOT. Opening the Capital Construction Fund (CCF) provisions to Short Sea Shipping was a positive part of this legislation. However, the House Transportation Panel proposal to establish up to $2 billion in Title XI support for private financing was dropped in the final version of the bill (HR 6). Even with this support, the real work of getting ships in the water will ultimately depend on us—the private sector —as it should, because we can find the right solutions. What we really need from government is to first do no harm. Remove the disincentives slowing development of the Marine Highway. Reform HMT so we can begin to validate the coastwise markets. The U.S. Marine Highway alone is clearly not the answer for Energy Independence and Security, but it is a solution for relieving port and intermodal transportation congestion. It will take trucks off the road, help to ease traffic, reduce emissions and increase overall JULY 2008 MARINE LOG 13 http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - July 2008

Marine Log - July 2008 Contents Editorial Second Thoughts Update Inside Washington Coastal Shipping Communications Paints & Coatings WISTA’s Jeanne Grasso Showcase Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Events Website Directory ML Buyer's Guide ML Marketplace Tech Talk Gulf Coast Headliner

Marine Log - July 2008

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