Section Front Front Page |
 |
|
Two Hearings Held On Cruise Industry
| |||
| Congress Examines Cruise Ship Safety, Cabotage Repeal Bill | |||
|
In two hearings Oct. 6 and Oct. 7, Congress examined different aspects of
the foreign cruise industry, many companies of which are based in the U.S.
and operate from U.S. ports. On Thursday, Oct. 7, the House of Representatives Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee heard testimony on safety and the lack thereof aboard foreign cruise ships that operate from U.S. ports. At the hearing, concern was expressed about the ability of foreign cruise lines that carry mostly American passengers to operate outside the jurisdiction of U.S. laws. Both Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS) raised the issue of foreign cruise ships operating "inside our waters but outside our laws." On Wednesday, Oct. 6 the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee convened a hearing on S.1510, legislation that would effectively repeal portions of the Passenger Vessel Services Act by allowing foreign vessels to operate directly between U.S. ports along coastlines, inland waters and in the Great Lakes for up to 200 days. These foreign cruise ships would remain exempt from U.S. income tax, safety, and labor laws during that period. Beginning with the bill's title, irony highlighted the hearing on S.1510. Titled "'United States Cruise Ship Tourism Development Act of 1999," S.1510 would actually thwart efforts being made by U.S. companies to develop fleets of U.S.-built, U.S.-owned and U.S.-registered cruise vessels that would be crewed with U.S. citizens and operated in full compliance with U.S. laws. S.1510 would allow foreign companies to operate flag-of-convenience cruise ships in U.S. waters at a much lower cost than would be possible if these ships were forced to comply with U.S. tax, labor, safety and environmental laws. Testifying on behalf of the U.S. cruise industry at the hearing, Ed Welch of the Passenger Vessel Association and Allen Walker of the Shipbuilders Council of America argued that any vessel operating in U.S. domestic maritime trades must be required to comply with all U.S. laws. Also ironic were comments from Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), sponsor of S.1510 and chair of the Senate Committee before which the hearing was held. Sen. McCain during the hearing criticized the foreign cruise industry for numerous recent problems involving vessel casualties, environmental damage and sexual assaults aboard the very cruise ships his legislation seeks to welcome into U.S. domestic trades. Further, Cynthia Colenda, president of the International Council of Cruise Lines, testified that even if S.1510 was enacted as is, the foreign cruise lines thatform her organization would probably not enter their ships into U.S. domestic trades. During the hearing, S.1510 received an endorsement from the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association District 1 (MEBA). MEBA endorsed S.1510, a bill which would effectively mothball the fleet of U.S. cruise ships currently under construction in U.S. shipyards, on its own behalf, and on behalf of the Masters, Mates and Pilots union and the Sailors Union of the Pacific. AMO went on record against S.1510. Prior to the hearing, several U.S. labor unions, vessel operators and shipyard groups, as well as the U.S. maritime industry coalition the Maritime Cabotage Task Force, submitted written statements in strong opposition to S.1510. Not surprising were Sen. Sam Brownback's comments during the hearing. Sen. Brownback proposed that efforts to amend the Passenger Vessel Services Act should be linked to efforts to amend (or repeal) the Jones Act. | |||
 | |||
|
