Page 35: of Marine News Magazine (June 2021)

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Captain Bernie Egan,

Supervisor of Marine

Operations, Prince

Rupert Port Authority

Prince Rupert Port Authority maritime trade than in the U.S. On international sea trade routes, particularly in Europe, shippers use what van Ryn- bach described as modern versions of older style cargo ves- sels: ships with ? ve holds, separate cranes and removeable decks. The ships are versatile and can carry, as a customer might need, break-bulk cargo, project cargo, containers, grain or aggregates.

Similar ships are not used in U.S. mainland trade, van

Rynbach explained, because of Jones Act constraints and the economics of using rail and trucks to move freight between U.S. ports. However, containerships with added roll-on/roll-off capability are used between the U.S. main- land and offshore states and territories.

Multiple functions:

Central to the Coast Guard

Beyond MARAD, multimission vessels are central with- in the military, particularly the U.S. Coast Guard.

Consider the USCG’s Sentinel-class fast response cut- ters. These vessels are built for multiple missions, includ- ing port, waterways and coastal security, ? shery patrols, search and rescue and national defense.

More recently, in April, the Coast Guard announced plans for a Waterways Commerce Cutter Acquisition Pro- gram. This new vessel construction would replace the cur-