U.S maritime advocates have warned of the crippling of the Merchant Marine before, only for the institution dating back to revolutionary days to soldier on. This time, however, their fears appear warranted.Denise Krepp, a consultant and former Chief Counsel at the U.S. Maritime Administration, said the Obama administration hasn’t done enough to enforce cargo preference requirements that federal departments use the U.S.-flag fleet for transport.
Reports suggest that the Obama administration, through its yet-to-be-released fiscal 2014 budget, will seek to end foreign food aid programs that the U.S.-flag fleet depends on.
The greater threat is that the Merchant Marine will shrink in terms of vessels and mariners to the point that it can’t support military operations during times of crisis, said James Caponiti, executive director of the American Maritime Congress. The ocean fleet numbers roughly 200 commercially-owned and commercially-operated vessels that provides jobs to more than 11,000 mariners.
