Page 21: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 1999)

Authorization Conferees

Support Navy, Shipbuilders

The Conferees on the Defense Autho- rization Bill, S.1059, for fiscal year 2000 wrapped up their conference after providing "Extended Lease" authority of 20 years or more to the Secretary of the Navy for the services of non-com- batant ships, and rejecting an attempt by

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) to repeal the three-year waiting period before for- eign-built ships are eligible to carry preference cargo. The House Armed

Services Committee has been working for three years to provide the Secretary of the Navy the authority to enter into long-term leases of the services of newly constructed non-combatant ships as an alternative to procuring the ships in the Shipbuilding and Conversion

Account. This effort, championed by

Representatives Herb Bateman (R-

VA); Neil Abercrombie (D-HI); Dun- can Hunter (R-CA); and Norman

Sisisky (D-VA), had failed to receive the support of the Senate until this year when Senators Olympia Snowe (R-

ME); Mary Landrieu (D-LA); and

Trent Lott (R-MS) lent their support to the measure.

Section 1014 of the House Armed Ser- vices Committee bill, H.R. 1401, will give the Secretary of the Navy the authority to lease commercial type ships required to meet a multitude of DOD missions if the Secretary can demon- strate to Congress the merits of leasing rather than purchasing.

Congressmen Herb Bateman (R-VA) and Gene Taylor (D-MS) led the charge in the House to prevent a proposal by

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) from being enacted in conference that would have repealed the three-year waiting period before foreign-built ships were eligible to carry government food aid.

The overwhelming opposition to this proposal by the House, and Senators

John Warner (R-VA), Chairman of the

Armed Services Committee, Olympia

Snowe (R-ME); and Rick Santorum (R-PA) speaks volumes to Congress' commitment to a strong shipbuilding industrial base and U.S.-flag merchant marine as dedicated transportation providers of taxpayer food aid to coun- tries in need.

Excerpted, in part, from the Sept. 3, 1999 edition of American Shipbuilder, which is published by the Amercian

Shipbuilding Association.

McCain Introduces New PSA

Reform Bill

Senate Commerce, Science and Trans- portation Committee chairman John

McCain (R-AZ) introduced S.510 - The

U.S. Ship Tourism Development Act of 1999. If enacted, S.1510 would repeal the Passenger Vessel Services Act

October, 1999 23 (PVSA), which requires passengers transported between U.S. ports to be moved on U.S.-built, crewed and owned vessels. If implemented, this bill would allow the Secretary of Transportation to issue a permit allowing foreign-flag ves- sels to carry passengers between U.S. ports for up to 200 days per vessel. The

Secretary also has the authority to issue these permits for three years, thus giving these foreign-flag vessels until Decem- ber 31, 2006 to utilize their 200 days of

U.S. coastwise trade operating privi- leges. The bill also enables permitted vessels to continue to operate in the U.S. coastwise trades after December 31, 2006 — only if the ship has been issued a certificate of documentation with a coastwise endorsement and all of the vessel's operating crew are U.S. citizens or resident aliens of the U.S.

The prerequisite to receiving this cer- tificate is that the operator of a foreign- built vessel must only demonstrate a plan to build a cruise vessel in the U.S., or that it has made substantial progress in establishing a contract to construct a cruise ship in the U.S. Included in this legislation are repair, maintenance, alteration or other preparation of the vessel for operation in the U.S. to be performed in a U.S. shipyard only after a permit to operate has been granted.

Kawasaki

IN PURSUIT OF

MANOEUVERABILITY

Aspiring to provide excellent systems,

Kawasaki, with a century- long experience, is continually researching and developing new propulsion systems.

Hi KAWASAKI

Vl

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