Prepared Remarks
Acting Deputy Maritime Administrator and Chief Counsel
Julie Nelson
United Seamen’s Service Council of Trustees Meeting
The Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers
Thank you very much for that warm introduction.
I would like to thank President Talmage Simpkins and Executive Director Roger Korner for inviting me here today. I consider it a great honor to be with this distinguished group.
In preparing these remarks, I was reminded of the Admiral of the Ocean Sea Award dinner I attended with many of you last November.
It felt great to present plaques and rosettes to seafarers who have distinguished themselves in the American Merchant Marine. And I must add, I felt privileged to do so alongside Helen Delich Bentley, a person who not only has been lovingly called the “godmother” of the Port of Baltimore, but whose devotion to the city’s waterfront resulted in the renaming of the Port of Baltimore to the “Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore” two weeks ago.
As I reflected on the seafarer award presentation, I realized that all of those individuals with their ties to the maritime industry we honored had something very important in common, a commonality everyone here values: Education.
In fact, education is one of the main reasons why the USS-American Merchant Marine Library Association supplies “seagoing libraries” to the American Merchant Marine, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and to seafarers of allied nations. You know well that the books the USS/AMMLA placed in over 300 libraries in the past year continue to meet the educational, recreational, and self-help needs of seafarers.
I, too appreciate the value of a good book. Many years ago my parents established a routine that included weekly attendance at a church service, followed by lunch, and a stop at the local library.
And I always looked forward to those library visits. I must admit however, that sometimes I held on to a book longer than the library would have liked.
You could say that those visits to the library were responsible
for my career in the maritime industry.
Some might suggest that I should have read more books. If I had, when I sailed on the Amelia Earhart Search Expedition, I would surely have known that it was not up to me to operate a 2-ton crane, change oil filters, and to try my hand at welding. But I did it anyway.
I guess the point that I really want to make is this: Books can inform, books can enlighten, and books can also provide great comfort when one is away from home.
It’s not at all hard to imagine the crew of the Ready Reserve Force and MSC time-chartered vessels relaxing with a book, learning from a book, while serving our country so admirably overseas.
Perhaps they reminisce, as do I, of a time spent with parents or loved ones while turning the pages. Even if that is all that is accomplished, then the books you have so generously provided served your mission well.
But I am preaching to the choir.
All of you know that the outreach programs you provide often spell the difference between despair and hope.
All of you know that, when a seafarer experiences sickness or misfortune, the United Seamen’s Service is there to lend a helping hand.
And all of you know that the services you provide reinforce
the many strong values that make
I salute your mission and I want you to know that we at MARAD will continue our commitment to your wonderful programs that help meet the ever changing needs of seafarers in the maritime industry.
You’ve asked me to share with you my insights and personal
observations on the unique challenges facing the
Today’s Merchant Marine serves a dual function.
The merchant marine is an essential part of the complex defenses that protect the freedom and security of our nation, providing essential sealift capabilities as they have done so admirably as part of the global war on terror.
The Merchant Marine also helps maintain the Nation’s economic strength in an increasingly global economy. And, the American flag on merchant vessels on the high seas and in foreign ports is a symbol of our Nation’s dedication to peaceful trade throughout the world.
But keeping our maritime transportation system safe and secure poses a significant challenge for government leaders and for transportation planners and providers. The sheer immensity of our maritime system—its very size and reach—make it potentially vulnerable to many threats, including threats from terrorists intent on disrupting our way of life.
For these reasons, MARAD has been conducting SafePort exercises. We have a DVD of a SafePort exercise—available upon request—which highlights the RRF’s security capabilities and the importance of the RRF to national security. On it you can see how our ships safely accessed a “suspect container” and removed it from a post-Panamax containership at a safe anchorage location for homeland security.
Our ships and our people also played a key role in our
As a result of this experience, we drafted a sea-based disaster relief platform concept so we are ready if MARAD is ever called upon to respond to a national disaster.
As you can see, the Maritime Administration has been very active
and effective in our efforts to support the Nation’s maritime policy and the
goal of the Bush Administration to keep
And day in and day out, the maritime industry plays a major
role in
Waterborne cargo and associated activities contribute more
than $742 billion annually to U.S. GDP;
Locally, your own Port of New York/New Jersey plays a major role in American trade with the rest of the world. 2005 was another record-breaking year for the port surpassing the $132 billion mark in the total value of all cargo handled.
And while I want to commend the port for the way it has geared up to handle increased maritime trade, our growing economy faces a major challenge, and that is congestion.
And the backups are not just a question of capacity constraints at the ports themselves, but of what happens beyond the gates on congested highways and freight railroads already stretched to their limits.
Congestion in all its forms is costing
President Bush and Secretary Mineta recognize the challenge
that congestion poses, and the opportunity that we have to do something about
it. So, last month, Secretary Mineta announced our National Strategy to Reduce Congestion on
America’s Transportation Network. The Bush Administration’s congestion relief
initiative provides federal, state, and local officials with a clear plan to
expand capacity on our existing roads, highways, and ports . . . and calls for
new approaches to fund and manage our transportation systems of the future.
You’ll be hearing a lot more about this plan in the future, so I wanted to make you aware of it today. Secretary Mineta has made it clear that this is a priority for all of us across the Department.
I’d like to close by telling you that I know that a good speech should conclude with something that the audience will remember. Sometimes it’s a call for action. Other times it’s simply using a good quote. But every time it’s a major point that the audience can take away.
And here is what I want you to take away today.
(SHOW THEM A BOOK.)
Please take this book and give it a good home at one of your libraries.
I feel that I have found a “Home Away From Home” with you and I hope that I can visit often to share with you how we can address transportation challenges and turn them into opportunities.
Thank you.
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