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Maritime Administration Praises New TOTE Project
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| Hart: New Tonnage To Be Among Safest, Most Environmentally Sound In The World | |||
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A U.S. shipbuilding contract announced in December has been praised by Maritime Administrator Clyde Hart and others. Under the contract, National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. of San Diego will build two large U.S.-flag roll-on/roll-off ships for Totem Ocean Trailer Express for direct service between Tacoma, Washington, and Anchorage, Alaska. The ships will be operated for TOTE by Interocean Ugland Mgmt. Corp., and they will be manned in all licensed positions by AMO. TOTE currently owns the roll-on/roll-off ships 'Westward Venture', 'Great Land' and 'Northern Lights' in the Pacific Northwest, and the company is a partner in Sea Star Line, which operates the roll-on/roll-off El Yunque and El Morro between Florida and Puerto Rico. AMO represents the engine and deck officers on the five ships. The new TOTE tonnage "will be built in the U.S., owned by U.S. interests, and operated by American crews," Hart noted. "Their construction will demonstrate the capability of U.S. shipyards to build commercial ships meeting the highest U.S. and international standards." The ships' design "will make them among the safest, most environmentally sound vessels in the world," Hart said. In addition, the U.S. merchant marine officers and crews who will staff the ships "represent the maritime skills we need both commercially and to meet national defense requirements." Also commenting was AMO National President Michael R. McKay. "The TOTE project proves that the Jones Act works as intended," he said. The Jones Act prohibits the use of foreign-owned, built, registered or crewed cargo vessels between ports in the U.S. and between the mainland and remote U.S. states and territories. The law has been under steady attack by powerful interests in the U.S. and abroad since April 1995, and its critics have focused most recently on the U.S. construction requirement. "When the domestic demand is there, U.S.-flag ship operators and American shipyards respond. AMO is pleased to be a part of this significant undertaking." Michael Sacco, president of the Maritime Trades Department in the AFL-CIO and of the Seafarers International Union, said the TOTE order reflects "continued confidence in and commitment to the Jones Act and the U.S. merchant marine." TOTE "understands the needs of Alaskan citizens and their businesses," said Sacco. TOTE is "establishing itself as the pacesetter for the next century by building these ships that will feature the very latest technology designed to protect the environment." Sacco said the TOTE project and others announced in 1999 will help "revitalize" the American merchant fleet, which "remains a vital part of America's economic and national defense transportation system." Focusing on the Jones Act aspect was American Shipbuilding Association President Cynthia Brown. The TOTE contract "marks the first of many expected orders by Jones Act shipowners to recapitalize their aging fleets," Brown said. U.S. yards "are committed to designing and building the most efficient and safest ships in the world to serve the Jones Act trade of the U.S.," Brown added. "This historic contract demonstrates our U.S. shipbuilding superiority and the commitment of the U.S. maritime industry to maintain the Jones Act, which ensures that only the safest built and operated ships meet America's waterborne commerce needs." Brown said TOTE's $300 million investment in "new, efficient tonnage" will not "equate to an increase in the cost of transporting American waterborne commerce." The cargo capacity of the two newbuildings will equal that of the Westward Venture, Great Land, and Northern Lights, and fuel, maintenance, and cargo handling will cost less, she explained. "The ships' modern innovative design demonstrates once again the superior quality of American-built and American-owned ships that serve the domestic commerce of the U.S.," Brown said. | |||
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