Prepared Remarks

Captain William Schubert

Blue Water/Brown Water Conference

New York City

June 3, 2004

On behalf of the Department of Transportation, I am pleased to participate in today’s Blue Water/Brown Water Conference.

I would like to take this opportunity to discuss the positive changes that have recently taken place in the maritime industry. As the Maritime Administrator, I am proud to report that MARAD has taken the lead in coordinating several new initiatives which will create additional jobs in the maritime industry, improve efficiency and security in the movement of our waterborne commerce, and ensure our nation’s economic health in years to come.

Recently, the United States and China signed a Maritime Agreement. In it, the Chinese government committed to changing the business licenses of U.S. carriers in such a way as to provide improvements in U.S. carriers’ access to the Chinese transportation market. This five-year bilateral agreement became effective in April and is the most far-reaching agreement in the history of maritime trade between the two nations. For the first time ever, U.S.-registered shipping companies operating in China have the legal flexibility to perform an extensive range of business activities in China, enjoying the same free market access that Chinese carriers enjoy in the United States.

We are also pleased that China has agreed to be our partner in another critically important program—the Container Security Initiative—or CSI. This groundbreaking program of Customs and Border Protection allows cargo containers to be pre-screened prior to lading for transit to the United States. CSI will not only detect but also deter attempts by terrorists to exploit cargo containers, and, as such, will act as an insurance policy against disruption of trade between our countries.

Of equal importance is the new initiative proposed by Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta in partnership with MARAD. This proposal, consisting of wide-ranging maritime policies, is called SEA-21. It addresses the maritime component of our overall transportation system and includes a Short Sea Shipping component.

Short Sea Shipping is designed to increase the amount of freight moved by water and to work in partnership with other intermodal transportation systems. It is not intended to take business and jobs from trucks and railroads but will ease congestion on our roads and highways, thus complementing an overloaded transportation system and adding capacity to our multi-modal transportation network.

Another MARAD initiative currently under consideration by Congress includes the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act, known as SAFETEA. This proposal contains funding for the so-called "last mile"—the highway and rail connections to the ports, which are so critically in need of repair and improvement.

U.S. foreign trade and freight volumes at American ports are expected to increase by 50 percent by the year 2020. Secretary of Transportation Mineta has challenged us to look over the horizon to the impacts and the benefits of tomorrow resulting from the decisions and actions we make today. If we do our job right, intermodal cooperation will lead to greater prosperity for the entire transportation system and marine transportation—every one of its components—will be recognized as essential to our economy and our nation.

Thank you.

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