REP. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS HOLDS A HEARING ON MARINER EDUCATION.

Original Source: Political Transcript Wire

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON COAST GUARD AND MARITIME TRANSPORTATION HOLDS A HEARING ON MARINER EDUCATION

OCTOBER 17, 2007

SPEAKERS: REP. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, D-MD.

CHAIRMAN REP. GENE TAYLOR, D-MISS.

REP. RICK LARSEN, D-WASH. REP. CORRINE BROWN, D-FLA. REP. BRIAN HIGGINS, D-N.Y. REP. BRIAN BAIRD, D-WASH. REP. TIMOTHY H. BISHOP, D-N.Y.

REP. JAMES L. OBERSTAR, D-MINN.

EX OFFICIO

REP. STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, R-OHIO RANKING MEMBER REP. DON YOUNG, R-ALASKA REP. HOWARD COBLE, R-N.C. REP. WAYNE T. GILCHREST, R-MD.

REP. FRANK A. LOBIONDO, R-N.J. REP. TED POE, R-TEXAS REP. JOHN MICA, R-FLA.

EX OFFICIO

REP. LAURA RICHARDSON, D-CALIF.

WITNESSES: REAR ADMIRAL JOEL WHITEHEAD,

COMMANDER, U.S. COAST GUARD'S EIGHTH DISTRICT

SEAN CONNAUGHTON, ADMINISTRATOR, UNITED STATES MARITIME ADMINISTRATION

MICHAEL RODRIQUEZ, MASTERS, MATES & PILOTS UNION

CARL ANNESSA, PRESIDENT FOR OPERATIONS, HORNBECK OFFSHORE SERVICES

CATHY HAMMOND, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER FOR INLAND MARINE SERVICES, AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS

VICE ADMIRAL JOHN CRAINE JR., (USN, RET.), PRESIDENT,

MARITIME COLLEGE OF NEW YORK

CAPTAIN WILLIAM BEACOM, NAVIGATION CONSULTANT AND PROFESSIONAL MARINER

AUGUSTIN TELLEZ EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT,

SEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION.

CAPTAIN AUTHUR H. SULZER, (USN, RET.) MARITIME ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

CAPTAIN JEFF SLESINGER DIRECTOR OF SAFETY AND TRAINING,

WESTERN TOWBOAT COMPANY

BERIT ERIKSSON, FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,

PACIFIC COAST MARITIME CONSORTIUM

[*] CUMMINGS: The subcommittee will come to order. Before we begin, I ask unanimous consent that Congresswoman Laura Richardson may sit with the subcommittee and participate in this hearing. And, without objection, it is so ordered.

I am hopeful that she will be joining us shortly, and I'll say a little bit more about her at that time.

Today, our subcommittee convenes to consider two interrelated topics that are of great importance to the future success of the maritime industry. Specifically, we will examine the nature, causes and forecast of labor shortages in the industry and we will examine trends and innovations in maritime education.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, ports are the gateways through which 80 percent of our nation's foreign trade enters our country. Commerce in our nation's maritime sector accounts for approximately $750 billion of the U.S. gross domestic product.

Water-borne trade, which totaled 2.3 billion metric tons in 2005 is increasing at a startling rate and the growth in imported cargo, combined with our own domestic production, is creating freight volumes that are straining our transportation networks.

At the same time, significant changes continue to transform the experience of working in the maritime industry. No longer is a sailor's life necessarily one of adventure, offering a young person a chance both to learn about sailing through on-the-job experiences at sea, while occasionally spending weeks exploring port cities around the world.

Deadlines and cost margins are tight and ships sail with the fewest possible number of crewmembers, who are expected to fulfill multiple duties while keeping regular watches and who usually spend no more than a few hours in any port.

The significant changes occurring in the maritime industry appear to be contributing to labor shortages that in turn threaten to further strain the industry.

The nature and extent of the shortages is not well quantified, and they appear to vary by type of mariner and type of vessel. An important part of our job today is to understand the shortages and to project their potential impact on the various segments of the U.S. maritime industry.

Based on data the United States Maritime Administration has provided, however, we know that the average age of a mariner with a master's license is 51, while the average age of a chief engineer is 50.

The figures also suggest that nearly 30 percent of inland mariners will be eligible to retire in the near future. There are likely many factors that can contribute to a labor shortage in the maritime industry, and just as the extent of the shortages is not known, the impact of each factor is difficult to assess.

Certainly the lifestyle associated with the maritime industry presents unique challenges. While the lure of the sea has been a siren song to many throughout the ages, many people are also lured by the call of home. And they would prefer to relax with their families by the end of the day, rather than retire to a small cabin at the end of a hard ship.

Wage differentials between jobs on sea and jobs on land my contribute to shortages, particularly when combined with the lifestyle challenges of life on the water. Further, significant new standards for training and continuing education have been applied to mariners through the 1995 amendments to the Convention on the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping.

These standards serve the critical goal of improving safety in the maritime industry and reducing human factors as the causes of maritime accidents, but they have also had the effect of imposing expensive and time-consuming training requirements on mariners, particularly on unlicensed mariners seeking to climb their way up the hawse pipe to man a ship.

They are certainly outstanding facilities in the United States that help train individuals to enter the maritime industry and to advance in their careers, such as Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training in Piney Point, Maryland, run by the Seafarers International Union, which I have had the honor of visiting, and the Maritime Training in Piney Point, Maryland, run by the Seafarers International Union, which I have had the honor of visiting, and the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies, associated with the Masters, Mates, and Pilots Union, which I have also had the honor of visiting.

However, attendance at such facilities can be expensive and require a significant commitment of time that maritime schedules may not allow a mariner to easily make. Further, we need to assess whether current maritime education programs have the capacity to meet the demand of those who are just now entering the maritime industry.

In short, our hearing today is intended to enable us to draw a comprehensive picture of the personnel situation of the U.S. maritime industry. Our examination will inform the future development of policies needed to ensure that our nation has the labor we need to keep maritime commerce flowing, and to ensure that those contemplating working on the water will have the chance to advance along a career path that brings them to new opportunities.

Before I recognize the ranking member, I also want to discuss for one moment a trend in maritime education that is of significance to me, and that is the growth or, I might say, re-growth of maritime- themed high schools across the nation.

In his written testimony, Captain Art Sulzer, who will appear on our third panel, has presented a very comprehensive discussion of the past history of high school-level maritime education, as well as the successes of and challenges faced by the new maritime-themed high schools being created today.

Shortly after becoming chair of this subcommittee, I learned that my own city of Baltimore had established a maritime-themed high school some five or six years ago. After visiting the school, I learned that it had been achieving impressive test results and graduation rates, but the school system had not made the investments necessary to ensure that the school was truly offering a maritime education and could prepare students for work in the maritime industry.

Over the past summer, I have been working closely with a very dedicated group of individuals from the Baltimore maritime community, including former Congresswoman Helen Bentley, to ensure that the promise inherent in the school's name, Maritime Industries Academy, was fulfilled and that students could receive a maritime education that would be meaningful. We have succeeded in revitalizing the school's Junior Naval ROTC program and have introduced a guest lecture series to bring the maritime community into the school.

We are poised to achieve even greater results with the creation of a new advisory board that will guide the school through the process of applying for a charter, which will hopefully give the school the flexibility it needs to support an expansive maritime curriculum.

I want to briefly acknowledge the significant contributions that many of those who are joining us today are making to the development of this project, including: Administrator Connaughton and his staff members, Sharon LeGrand, Shannon Russell and Richard Corley, who continue to bring the resources of the federal government to support this school.

MARAD also put us in touch with Captain Sulzer, who has been a key adviser. I also pay special tribute to Dick Fredericks (ph) for his hard work. I also thank Mr. Mike Rodriguez, Walt Megonigal, and the Masters, Mates & Pilots Union and its MITAGS institution; Augustin Tellez and the Seafarers International Union; and, Admiral Craine, the President of the New York Maritime Academy, which is creating a new partnership for maritime high schools in which I look forward to having Baltimore Maritime Industries Academy participate.

Every time I visit the school, whose advancement has become a top priority for me, I see firsthand the challenges, but I also see the possibilities of maritime education, and I gain a new kind of insights into the maritime industry that I frankly have not received from any other source.

My experience with this school also makes the subject of today's hearing very personal to me. I am truly hopeful that school districts around the country can benefit from the lessons that those who are testifying today are learning regarding how best to support the development of maritime schools and open such schools in their local communities.

I look forward to the testimony of our witnesses, and now I yield to our distinguished ranking member, Congressman LaTourette.

LATOURETTE: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, for the recognition.

I have to apologize this morning for being a little bleary-eyed. It took longer for the Cleveland Indians to dispatch the Boston Red Sox than I'd hoped last night.

This morning, the subcommittee will hear form several witnesses on the state of the maritime work force and the recommendations for enhancements and initiatives to attract and retain workers in the maritime trades.

Our nation's economy depends on a well-trained and skilled maritime work force. And I look forward to hearing the witnesses' suggestions.

Earlier this year, I introduced H.R. 1605, which was titled the Merchant Mariner Credentials Improvement Act of 2007. I am very grateful to you, Chairman Cummings, and also to Chairman Oberstar, for including this bill as a part of a larger Coast Guard authorization bill, and I look forward to working with both of you to enact those provisions into the law.

These provisions include commonsense changes to the Coast Guard's documentation and licensing processes. The bill would authorize maritime workers to renew their documents and licenses before their existing credentials expire, allow the Coast Guard to temporarily extend the validity of credentials and reduce the number of times that maritime workers would be required to appear in person and be fingerprinted for federal documents.

The bill also would allow newly hired workers to start working in an interim clearance status before they received their Transportation Worker Identification Card.

Lastly, the bill recognizes the impacts that a shortage in the number of merchant mariners would have on the U.S. fleet, our economy and our national security. I look forward to hearing the thoughts of our witnesses on all of the panels today on how such a shortage can be prevented.

Again, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for holding this important hearing and I thank the witnesses in advance for their testimony and yield back.

CUMMINGS: Mr. Baird.

BAIRD: I thank the chairman for holding this meeting.

The problem you're addressing today is part of a problem throughout the transportation industry. And I'll just make a brief plug.

Phil English and I have crated a caucus called the Career and Technical Education Caucus to address precisely these concerns. And though I'm a former university professor, back home I hear more requests for people who can drive diesel trucks, repair diesel engines, hang drywall, fix electrical wiring, et cetera, than I hear for liberal arts majors.

Nothing against the liberal arts majors in the crowd, including myself. But we need to do a lot more for career and tech ed in this country.

We have a paradox of people worried about jobs being exported overseas, even as employers today with high-paying jobs can't find skilled workers to fill those jobs. So I would hope that this is the first of a series, perhaps, of hearings that we have on this issue of the need for a skilled work force.

And, finally, I would urge members on both sides, when we talk about the importance of making a college education more affordable, to add the words career and technical education, because there are well- paying, decent jobs that people can put food on the table for their families and serve this country quite well. And we need to give career and tech ed every bit as much status as we give to college education.

I yield back and thank the chairman.

CUMMINGS: Thank you very much, Mr. Baird.

Mr. Coble.

COBLE: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

A very brief opening statement. Good to have you all with us this morning, gentlemen, Admiral.

An issue I want to determine and I think will be addressed today, Mr. Chairman, is whether or not the federal government has a responsibility to provide training or to ensure the availability of training for mariners working in the private sector. I suspect that will be addressed by one or both of our witnesses.

And I thank you for having the hearing, Mr. Chairman.

CUMMINGS: Mr. Bishop.

BISHOP: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for holding this hearing.

In the interest of time, I will submit my opening statement for the record.

CUMMINGS: Thank you very much, Mr. Bishop.

Mr. Gilchrest.

GILCHREST: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

A couple of brief remarks buttressing what previous members have said about the need for engineers down to dock workers in the maritime industry. By the year 2020, I understand the volume of cargo is going to double, the number of vessels will double, but the number of ports will probably diminish, and the concentration of that cargo going into those ports is going to require the best kind of intellect that the engineers, the dock workers and we have to offer.

And there's no question that education in the whole range of the maritime industry is necessary and we need to put our best people into that and our best efforts and back it up with dollars, to make those opportunities possible, because they are essential and the American public utterly depends on the maritime industry for virtually everything they purchase at our stores.

As we go through this, though, this that we're describing today is human activity, and it's human activity impacting more than likely in a degrading fashion on very limited resources. That's the environment, and the ecology, the environment upon which we ultimately depend, is only now as resilient as our understanding of that ecology is.

So, as we go through the fact that we need technical schooling, we need engineers, all the way down to dock workers, every one of those individuals needs to also understand their place, the impact this industry has on those vital natural resources. So human activity is important in this maritime industry, but it also needs to be and can be compatible with nature's design.

I represent the Chesapeake Bay, and we're always discussing, and more often than not disputing, where dredging needs to take place, where a whole range of other activities concerning ballast water, invasive species, all of these things need to take place.

We now know enough information so we don't have to sacrifice the Chesapeake Bay so people in Missouri and Minnesota and Colorado and Maryland can have the goods they need to purchase to improve the quality of their life.

So as we go through this process, an understanding of where we fit in nature's design will certainly benefit our posterity.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

CUMMINGS: Thank you very much, Mr. Gilchrest.

Mr. Poe.

POE: Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I'm concerned about how we got in this situation. If we know how we got in this situation, maybe we can rectify it and not continue to be, in my opinion, a dire situation.

And also, has the federal government, with its regulations, made this worse or is it making it better? And I would like some candid answers on the role of the federal government. Does it get in the way or does it help? And, with that, Mr. Chairman, I'll yield back.

Thank you.

CUMMINGS: That being the end of the opening statements, we will now hear from Admiral Joel Whitehead, who is commander of the Coast Guard's Eighth District, and Mr. Sean Connaughton, administrator of the United States Maritime Administration.

Thank you, gentlemen, for being with us. You will have five minutes to provide a summary of your testimony and then we'll have some questions.

WHITEHEAD: Good morning, Mr. Chairman and distinguished members of the subcommittee. I'm Admiral Joel Whitehead, commander of the Eighth Coast Guard District in New Orleans. The Eighth Coast Guard District is the largest of nine Coast Guard districts and covers 26 states, more than 1,200 miles of coastline and 10,300 miles of inland waterways from Florida to Mexico and including the entire navigable length of the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee river systems.

I'm pleased to have this opportunity to be with you today and to discuss the Coast Guard's role in maritime education and work force.

The Coast Guard sets standards of training and qualification for seafarers and administers the Maritime Licensing and Documentation Program, in compliance with domestic and international laws. The aim of the mariner licensing and documentation program is to ensure that the U.S. merchant marine vessels are manned by qualified, trained and competent personnel.

In 1978, the International Maritime Organization adopted the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers Convention of 1978. The U.S. deferred ratification efforts and worked for over a decade to make the necessary changes to our licensing regulations to comply with the convention.

The U.S. became party to the STCW Convention in 1991. The STCW Convention was significantly amended in 1995. The amendments were comprehensive and detailed, resulting in more consistent training worldwide.

Competence-based standards were established that placed emphasis on the requirements for training and assessment of skills in almost every facet of a mariner's profession. To meet our convention obligations, the Coast Guard published an interim rule on June 26th, 1997, implementing the 1995 amendment.

The rule retained the existing licensing structure in the United States. It incorporated the STCW training and practical demonstrations of skill requirements and included oversight of the training.

This rule impacted mariners serving on commercial seagoing vessels of over 200 gross registered tons, whether operating on domestic or international voyages and resulted in increased training cost to the mariners.

Mariners serving on seagoing vessels of less than 200 gross registered tons on domestic voyages and mariners serving on non- seagoing vessels, such as inland towing vessels, were not impacted by the rule.

The Coast Guard is currently reviewing the 1997 interim rule and is considering seeking additional comments to ensure that we continue to meet our obligations under the convention. The review is necessary to incorporate lessons learned during the 10-year implementation period, to clarify issues that generated confusion to mariners, to address the comments on the interim rule and to address recommendations from the 2003 independent evaluation of the credentialing and licensing program.

In January of 2007, the IMO began a comprehensive review of the STCW Convention that will take several years to complete. The review is restricted to a limited number of issues to avoid any unnecessary amendments or a reduction of the very successful training regime and subsequent impact to industry.

The comprehensive review presents an opportunity to look for alternative training approaches not considered during the 1995 amendments that may help alleviate the burdens imposed by the implementation of STCW.

The Coast Guard has engaged the Department of Homeland Security's Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee, or MERPAC, to provide recommendations on the issues to assist in the development of the positions for the United States.

The Coast Guard has also partnered with MARAD to oversee and evaluate the implementation of STCW by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the six state maritime academies.

Furthermore, the Coast Guard has supported and fostered discussions on mariner recruitment and retention to address training- related issues that would contribute to the shortage of qualified U.S. mariners.

The Coast Guard believes that the STCW has significantly enhanced the safety and security of the United States by requiring foreign vessels calling on our waters to be manned with competent crews.

The Coast Guard does recognize that implementing the requirements of the STCW Convention for U.S. seagoing vessels has imposed a financial burden on our mariners and we continue to examine methods that may potentially reduce some of the challenges associated with the implementation of the STCW requirements.

The Coast Guard is also undergoing several initiatives that aim to positively impact industry, and for the past 12 months, the Coast Guard has been proceeding with its project to restructure and centralize the Mariner Licensing and Documentation Program.

Since June, the National Maritime Center has been focused on improving its customer service processes to issue mariner licenses and documents faster and with a higher degree of accuracy and consistency.

In August, as a result of the process improvements, the NMC reduced the inventory of credential applications being processed by 39 percent and issued over 2,000 mariner credentials, reaching a new production record.

While the overall processing time remains higher than desired, the average license renewal processing time has decreased by 25 percent since June. I thank you for this opportunity to discuss maritime education and work force. And I'd be pleased to answer any questions you may have.

CUMMINGS: Thank you very much.

Mr. Connaughton.

CONNAUGHTON: Mr. Chairman, Mr. LaTourette, members of the subcommittee, it's a great pleasure for me to be here today to talk to you about some of the challenges that we're facing, but also some of the great opportunities that people have if they enter into the maritime industry and what a great career it is.

Mr. Chairman, I have a prepared system I'd like to enter into the record and summarize my remarks, sir.

CUMMINGS: So ordered.

CONNAUGHTON: As you mentioned, sir, we're facing some challenges today, primarily due to, first, the strength of the American economy, the fact that we are seeing enormous recapitalization in the maritime industry, particularly in the brown water fleet, the offshore industry and the coast-wise fleets.

These have obviously meant that we are seeing a greater demand for water-borne transportation and also the people that man the vessels. But in addition we also are facing some challenges when you look at the actual personnel themselves versus retirements.

The second is that many people are not necessarily perceiving the maritime industry as a career, regulatory hurdles and other types of concerns, particularly in the criminalization of certain types of accidents have made going to see or going to work in the maritime industry less attractive than it was in the past.

In addition, we're also seeing an enormous challenge internationally with a shortage of mariners, practically around the world. In fact,…