Last week, Maersk
announced that it will be working with shipyards in Alang, India, to create
responsible recycling programs. I'm disappointed that Maersk vessels will be
dismantled in India instead of the United States. At that same time, however,
I'm impressed with Maersk's clear ship recycling policy and its plan to
implement it. This clarity is something that is sorely lacking in the United
States and it's my hope that the U.S. Maritime Administration takes a page from
Maersk's playbook.
Ship recycling in
the United States is a mess. The Federal Property and Administrative Service
Act of 1949 states that the Maritime Administration serves as the government's
disposal agent for obsolete government vessels over 1500 gross tons. The law is
even referenced on MARAD and the General Services Administration websites.
Sadly, GSA ignores it.
Instead, GSA
auctions off vessels haphazardly without including MARAD. Last fall, Jon
Ottman, a maritime historian who had been working to preserve the former Coast
Guard Cutter Storis as a museum ship, questioned GSA about MARAD's role in the
sale of the vessel. His question was based on FOIA documents he had received
showing that MARAD employees had requested information about the sale but GSA
had never responded to them. GSA informed Mr. Ottman last week that it is the
agency's practice "to only discuss contracts with the parties of the
contract. The contract for the Storis did not include MARAD, so details like
the number of offers received, sales price, purchaser, delivery date, etc.
would not be discussed with MARAD." Huh?
Mr. Ottman also had
the audacity to ask GSA about where the money came from to pay for the STORIS.
Per the FOIA documents Mr. Ottman received last fall, the buyer told GSA in
2013 that he was waiting for an international wire to complete the purchase. So
of course, Mr. Ottman asked for more information. GSA's February 2016 response
is astounding "(a)fter a thorough review of our records, GSA affirms that
no additional records exist related to the source of the buyer's money. The
payment was made by wire transfer to the Department of Treasury. To make a FOIA
request to Treasury please send your request to . . ."
So just to clarify,
GSA is auctioning off obsolete government vessels even though that is MARAD's
responsibility to perform this task. GSA officials are doing so without
checking where the money is coming from. And, there is no indication that GSA
feels any remorse for breaking the law.
In December 2015,
the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General issued a report
exposing GSA and MARAD's dysfunctional relationship. It's so bad that that IG
actually states that MARAD lacks the statutory authority to make GSA recognize
its responsibilities and the February 2016 letter to Mr. Ottman merely
reiterates this fact.
The IG report also
found that MARAD lacks the policies and procedures for identifying the universe
of government-owned vessels for which it has responsibility for disposal. No
kidding. GSA has this list and it's not sharing it with MARAD.
The worst part of
this story is that it is not GSA who gets penalized. Rather, it's the U.S.
Merchant Marine Academy, the state maritime schools, and the thousands of
maritime historical organizations throughout the country. When MARAD disposes
of the vessels, these entities receive a portion of the proceeds. When GSA
usurps the process, none of these educational entities receives the funding for
which they are eligible under federal law.
That's why I
recommend that MARAD take a page from Maersk's playbook and take concise
action. MARAD should tell GSA to stand down and let MARAD do its job. This
doesn't require statutory authority. Rather, it requires political will, which
the agency has. The museums, maritime schools and STORIS vets will support
MARAD telling GSA to retire from the field.
MARAD should also
comply with the IG's recommendation and identify all of the government vessels
that will be declared obsolete in the coming years. The sooner MARAD identifies
the Coast Guard; Army Corps of Engineers; National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration; Fish and Wildlife Service; and other agency vessels, the sooner
it will be able to develop policies and procedures to dispose of these vessels
and disburse the money accumulated from their sale.
Source: maritime-executive.
22 February 2016
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