Page 23: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2020)

INSIghtS: amerICaN WaterWayS operatorS 2020 yearbook ment new procedures necessitated by COVID-19. erations. The lessons of this experi-

While COVID-19 features prominently in our industry’s pres- ence are clear: just as a patchwork ent, both opportunities and challenges lie ahead in its future. of stay-at-home orders is incompat-

All indications are that the pandemic will remain with us for ible with the effective functioning of the maritime some time, so the industry will need to continue evolving to supply chain, so too is a patchwork of state and local meet the challenges of a “chronic” COVID-19 environment. laws and regulations established for other purposes. Uni-

Business must go on – safely. And pandemic or not, severe form, nationally consistent regulations are essential. weather like hurricanes and fooding are annual challenges Investing in our ports and waterways infrastructure is vital that companies have learned to prepare for and contend with. to our industry, and will also help our nation’s economy get

Fortunately, the lessons learned and communications channels back on its feet. This means passing a Water Resources and De- opened with government and other stakeholders during severe velopment Act; increasing investment in locks, dams, harbor weather events as well as the pandemic have great potential to maintenance and dredging; and building the next generation be mutually reinforcing, helping us get better at preparing for of Coast Guard buoy tenders and ensuring the funding to keep and managing crisis situations. them operating. As demand for waterborne commerce increas-

As ever, the vitality of the tugboat, towboat and barge indus- es as we recover from the economic shocks of the pandemic, try depends not only on prioritizing health and safety, and on we need to ensure that our waterways are open for business and successful navigation of the economic environment, but also on in condition to accommodate this demand. sound public policies that will position the industry to continue On the regulatory front, we will continue to work closely with making vital contributions to American prosperity and security. the U.S. Coast Guard to implement the Subchapter M towing

The Jones Act, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this vessel inspection regulations effectively and on schedule while year, but whose antecedents date back to the earliest days of adapting inspection techniques as appropriate to minimize our country, has served our nation’s economic, homeland and health and safety risks due to the pandemic. national security well. It is more relevant than ever today, as The United States counts on the tugboat, towboat and barge both the pandemic and the prevailing geopolitical situation un- industry to help drive the economy and keep our waterways derscore what a bad idea it would be to relinquish control of our safe and secure. We will proudly continue to answer that call, domestic maritime supply chain to foreign companies (perhaps through all of our nation’s challenges. state owned) and foreign mariners.

Our industry’s experience during COVID-19 has also under-

The Author scored the importance of a uniform national system of laws and regulations governing interstate maritime transportation.

As state and local stay-at-home orders began to proliferate

Carpenter this spring, we could have experienced catastrophic disruption

Jennifer Carpenter is President & in the maritime supply chain. We did not, largely because the

CEO of The American Waterways Op- federal government took timely action to codify the status of erators, a trade association represent- maritime transportation businesses and workers as “essential ing the American tugboat, towboat and barge industry.

critical infrastructure” that needed to continue unfettered op-

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