Page 44: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 1994)

AWO: Allegretti Editorial (Continued from page 23) neers construction and operations processes, and to ensure that we live within our means, to build only the projects, on only the schedule, that the Inland Waterways Trust

Fund can afford.

The Jones Act

Other issues on AWO's horizon include closely monitoring attempts to eliminate cabotage protections in the Jones Act, which reserves participation in the U.S. coastwise trade to U.S.-owned, U.S.-crewed, and U.S.-built vessels. As support for the Jones Act remains a funda- mental policy of the Association,

AWO established a coalition of AWO members and non-member groups and commissioned a Jones Act study intended to lay the groundwork for a successful defense of the Act against future challenges. The cre- ation of this coalition has garnered strong unity and focus, and will pro- duce a strengthened, solidified de- fense of the Act.

Species Preservation & Trade

Expansion

On the environmental front, AWO is closely following Endangered Spe- cies Act (ESA) amendments, meant to try to balance economic develop- ment with species protection. AWO supports ESA reform legislation (HR 1490) offered by CongressmanBilly

Tauzin (D-La.) that would extend the Act for an additional five years and also mandate consideration of economic and social factors in any species preservation plans. By con- trast, Rep. Studds introduced ESA reform legislation that would make it easier for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife

Service and the National Marine

Fisheries Service to develop habitat plans for species that are candi- dates for listing under the Act, thereby increasing the number of "critical habitats" and impeding maritime commerce. AWO contin- ues to be actively involved with a coalition of various industry asso- ciations to evaluate and influence

ESA bills and regulatory initiatives.

Other Fronts

In the AWO's American Water- ways Shipyard Conference (AWSC), maritime reform and the Title XI loan guarantees for the construc- tion of vessel remain important is- sues.

Included in President Clinton's

National Shipbuilding Initiative, meant to revitalize the nation's ship- building industry, was the creation of an industry/government cost- shared program called MARITECH intended to accelerate technology transfer to shipyards. Congress ap- propriated $30 million for

MARITECH in May 1994, and

AWSC was awarded a MARITECH grant from the Advanced Research

Projects Agency (ARPA) for its pro- posal, "Penetrating the Interna- tional Market for Small Ships."

On the shipyard regulatory front, the Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA) at press time was expected to release a new rule regarding safety in confined spaces in shipyards. The new regu- lation will establish safety proce- dures and training requirements for entry into confined spaces in all vessels and vessel sections in ship- yards.

While all of these activities make for a very active agenda, AWO is fully prepared to face the challenges ahead.

This year, as the Association cel- ebrates its 50th anniversary, it is particularly gratifying to look back ion the industry's victories, and the lessons learned over the past five decades, and feel confident that as a result, AWO's future is very much assured.

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