The Maritime Minute
News from The American Maritime Partnership, April 15, 2013
GAO: U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY HEAVILY DEPENDS ON JONES ACT: A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on Puerto Rico and American shipping that says U.S. national security and military preparedness heavily depend on the Jones Act. “A decline in the number of U.S.-flag vessels would result in the loss of jobs that employ skilled mariners needed to crew the U.S. military reserve and other deep-sea vessels in times of emergency,” the GAO said. “According to DOD officials, to the extent that Jones Act markets are unable to sustain a viable reserve fleet, DOD would have to incur substantial additional costs to maintain and recapitalize a reserve fleet of its own.” Click here to read more.
LEADING U.S.-FLAG LAKES OPERATOR MARKS 100TH ANNIVERSARY: The Interlake Steamship Company will celebrate its 100th anniversary on April 25. The privately held company, headquartered in Middleburg Heights, Ohio, operates 10 U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes and annually moves more than 20 million tons of iron ore, coal, limestone and grain. With an overall length of 1,013.5 feet, Interlake’s flagship, the M/V PAUL R. TREGURTHA, is the largest vessel ever built for Great Lakes service. The company can actually trace its roots back to 1883. It has always been U.S.-owned; operating American-built ships crewed by American mariners.