Report Calls for Better Coordination of U.S. Marine System

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 10/1/1999

If the United States' marine system--including both international and domestic transportation--is to remain competitive in the future, stakeholders must begin now to resolve a number of critical issues, says a report presented to Congress last month by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater.

The report, An Assessment of the United States Marine Transportation System, was prepared by a task force that included federal agencies and private-sector organizations.

The overriding concern of the report is the need for coordination among the many government and private entities that have a hand in managing and regulating marine transport. Without that coordination, the report says, the United States' ability to handle waterborne commerce will be compromised. As Slater said when announcing the study's conclusions, "Our nation's economic growth could very well outperform our marine-transportation capacity over the next 20 years."

The report identifies eight critical issues facing the industry today. They include growing demands on existing capacity; changing user requirements; the need for improvements to infrastructure and information systems; poor coordination between federal, regional, state, and local authorities; insufficient funding; safety concerns; insufficient attention to environmental issues; and growing national security needs.

The report makes specific recommendations for resolving current and future problems. These include:

- Improve coordination of legislation, regulations, and resource allocation under consistent federal leadership. As a first step, Slater has formed a federal interagency coordinating committee and a private-sector advisory group.

- Coordinate public funding processes while seeking new sources of funding.

- Improve competitiveness by streamlining federal inspection and reporting requirements, improving landside access to ports, creating a marine-system research program, and developing more accurate traffic and demand forecasts.

- Improve awareness of marine transportation's economic value among the general public and promote environmental protection among waterway users.

- Establish information systems that provide better hydrographic, weather, vessel traffic-management, and cargo, vessel, and passenger tracking data.

- Meet national security objectives regarding cargo crime, smuggling, terrorism, and military mobilization.

- Achieve safety and environmental objectives in such areas as port and terminal operations, vessel discharge and loading, and dredging and channel design.

Editor's Note: The full text of the marine system report is available on the U.S. DOT's Web site at www.dot.gov/mts.