Page 92: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 1994)

Maritime Administration News

Proposal Would Allow Foreign

Vessels To Carry Preference

Cargoes From Great Lakes

Great Lakes ports will be able to compete for government-generated agricultural community cargoes under a trial program being pro- posed by the Maritime Administra- tion (MarAd).

U.S. cargo preference laws re- quire the use of U.S.-flag vessels for a portion of cargoes generated by the government, but no U.S.-flag ships currently provide service from the Great Lakes to foreign destina- tions.

For a one-season trial period to coincide with the current Great

Lakes shipping season, MarAd pro- poses allowing agricultural commod- ity cargoes subject to preference requirements to be carried by either

U.S. or foreign-flagged ships from

Great Lakes ports along the St.

Lawrence Seaway. The cargoes would then be transferred to U.S.- flag ships for the ocean portion of the shipment. The proposed rule would not establish a preference or set aside for the Great Lakes, and availability of U.S.-flag service would continue to be determined on a national basis. Determination of fair and reasonable rates for U.S.- flag vessels would include through bills of lading for the transportation service. For more information on the proposed rule, contact: John

Graykowski, Deputy Maritime

Administrator for Inland Waterways and Great Lakes, Room 7206, 400 7th Street SW, Washington, D.C., tel: (202) 366-1718.

New Toil-Free Importer/

Exporter Help Line

MarAd has a new toll-free help line number to assist exporters and importers with information on do- mestic or international cargo ship- ments, including cargo preference requirements.

Choose from one of the largest inventories in the U.S.

We stock all types and sizes of chain to meet your needs, both new and used, forged and welded, domestic or foreign. Give us a call with your requirements, or ask for our FREE catalog, where you'll find all your chain needs as well as other products and accessories, including: • ANCHOR HANDLING, RETRIEVING, AND MOORING SYSTEMS • CHAIN STOPPERS • CLEATS • CONNECTING LINKS • END LINKS • EYE BOLTS • HINGE LINKS • LATCHES • LIFTING EYES, EYE NUTS, AND PAD EYES • LINKS AND RINGS • LOAD BINDERS • RELEASE HOOKS • SHACKLES • SLINGS • SWIVELS • TOWING SHACKLES AND PLATES • TURNBUCKLES • TESTING TO 2,000,000 POUNDS

PLUS: ANCHORS, WIRE ROPE, CORDAGE, AND MORE

Call us with your needs today (CUSTOMER SERVICE 24 HOURS A DAY, 7 DAYS A WEIk) 1-800-851-3429

WASHINGTON CHAIN

AND SUPPLY, INC.

P.O. Box 3645 • 2901 Utah Avenue South • Seattle, Washington 98124

FAX (206) 621-9834

Circle 283 on Reader Service Card

Assistance is available to anyone dealing with the waterborne ship- ment of goods, including shippers and ocean carriers. The number is 1-800-9US-FLAG.

MarAd: Golden Monarch

Ineligible For U.S. Cargo

Preference Trade

MarAd has issued a final opinion and order in conjunction with an application filed by Aquarius Ma- rine Co. for a ruling regarding the eligibility of the tankerGo/cfen Mon- arch to carry preference cargoes if converted in a Korean shipyard to a dry bulk carrier. The tanker was constructed with the aid of a con- struction-differential subsidy and delivered in 1975 to Aeron Marine

Shipping Co., which bareboat char- tered the vessel to Aquarius. It was reconstructed in 1981, also with the aid of subsidy. According to

Aquarius, the vessel arrived in a

South Korean shipyard Feb. 1, the date of its request to MarAd. In its opinion, the agency found that the proposed conversion constitutes a rebuilding within the meaning of the Cargo Preference Act of 1954, and that the vessel's rebuilding in a foreign shipyard triggers a three- year waiting period for cargo pref- erence eligibility.

MarAd Approves Vessel Sales

MarAd has approved three ap- plications filed under section 9 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, as amended. Atlantic Pacific Ma- rine Corp. of Houston, Texas, re- ceived approval to sell the barges

Nicor Drilling Co. No. 202 and

APMC Rig 12. The purchaser of barge No. 202 is Jupiter Drilling

Corp. SA, a Panamanian corpora- tion. The barge was built in 1981 in

New Iberia, La. The purchaser of

APMC Rig 12, built in 1982 in Or- ange, Texas, is Mercury Drilling

Corp. SA, also of Panama. Both barges will be transferred to Pana- manian or Venezuelan registry.

Neptune International received approval to sell the tanker Falcon

Countess to Neter Navigation SA, a

Panamanian corporation, for resale to M/S Lalchand Jain & Sons, an

Indian corporation, for scrapping in India. The tanker was built in 1972 in Pascagoula, Miss.

Penn Barge Seeks Tugs &

Barge Loan Guarantee

MarAd has received an applica- tion from Penn Barge, Inc. of Stam- ford, Conn., for a Title XI loan guar- antee to help finance the construc- tion of two integrated double-hull tank barges and tugs that will meet

OPA '90 requirements. The two 122,000-barrel, double-hull barges would be built by Alabama Ship- yard, Inc., and the tugs would be built by Halter Marine, Inc., a Trin- ity Group yard.

The loan guarantee is for $26.25 million on a total cost of $35 million, with a term of 20 years. The sched- uled delivery dates on the barges are Jan. 21 and June 21, 1995; for the tugs, the dates are Feb. 24 and

April 24, 1995.

Kinsman Lines Applies To Sell

Bulk Cargo Ship

MarAd has received an applica- tion from Kinsman Lines, Inc. of

Cleveland, Ohio for permission to sell the bulk cargo vessel Henry

Steinbrenner for scrapping in

Canada. The proposed purchaser is

International Marine Salvage, Inc.,

Port Colborne, Canada. The 7,051- gt vessel was built in 1925 in River

Rouge, Mich.

MarAd Updates Brochure On

U.S.-Flag Shippers

MarAd has updated its brochure,

Vessel Service Guide — Support

American Ship U.S.-Flag. The 11- page brochure, previously titledSAip

Your Cargo on U. S. -Flag Ships, lists

U.S.-flag liner companies serving ocean trade, the areas they serve and the types of service provided.

Copies are available from the office of Market Promotion, Room 7209, 400 Seventh St. SW, Washington,

D.C. 20590. Tel: (202) 366-5508.

MarAd Extends Subsidies For

Stella Lykes

MarAd and the Maritime Sub- sidy Board have approved a request from Lykes Bros. Steamship Lines to extend the subsidizable life of the

Stella Ly&esbeyond its 25-year statu- tory life for approximately 2.5 years until November 25, 1996.

To approve the application, the board required a reduction in the previously extended subsidizable lives of seven Lykes vessels, and applied the reduced amounts to the extension of the Stella Lykes.

Therefore, the approval is budget neutral.

The board determined that pur- suant to section 605 (b) of the Mer- chant Marine Act, it is in the public interest to grant financial aid for tht vessel beyond its 25-year life or until otherwise withdrawn from the con- tract, whichever is earlier.

Vessel

Thompson Lykes

Velma Lykes

Genevieve Lykes

James Lykes

Leslie Lykes

Louise Lykes

Elizabeth Lykes

Previously

Subsidized

Until 8/17/94 2/1/95 3/8/95 5/26/95 8/11/95 8/20/95 1/29/96

Now

Subsidized

Until 2/1/94 5/30/94 1/8/95 2/28/95 4/30/95 5/30/95 7/30/95

MarAd Receives Application

To Refinance Title XI Debt

MarAd has received an applica tion from First Tug/Barge Corpora tion, on behalf of Shawmut Ban!

Connecticut, National Association

Hartford, Conn, (as successor owne trustee) for refinancing the existin

Title XI guaranteed debt on the inte grated tug/barge vessel Groton.

The existing period of guarante would remain the same as under th current financing; the obligation mature on December 31, 2006. Th vessel operates in the St. Croix, U.E

Virgin Islands and ports on the Ui

Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. 102 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News