Introduction

The Maritime Administration has been in operation for over 70 years. The agency’s early focus was to promote the merchant marine and related U.S. marine industries.  These included traditional programs that addressed issues of national security (sea lift capacity), shipbuilding and repair, cargo preference, and ship operations.  

More recently, the Maritime Administration has recognized the intermodal nature of the overall transportation system, and has developed and administered policies and programs to facilitate safe, efficient, and cost effective national transportation.

The agency’s prime strategic goals are to reduce congestion, enhance global transportation, uphold national security, and promote an environmentally friendly marine highway.  The Deepwater Port Licensing Program addresses all these goals by reducing the need for Liquefied Natural Gas tankers to enter busy seaports, thereby maintaining a high level of security and providing a viable fuel source for the United States.

To help solve the problem of growing landside congestion, the Maritime Administration advocates expanding the use of the nation’s marine highway, which is more fuel-efficient than land-based transportation, can move high volume and break bulk freight less expensively, and provides a vital alternative transportation mode in a natural disaster.  A fully functioning marine highway leads to enhanced freight flow, expanded freight capacity, reduced congestion, and improved air quality.

The Maritime Administration works collaboratively with its stakeholders, the port community, other governmental entities, and the transportation industry as a whole, to ensure that the marine transportation industry can meet the nation’s economic and security demands.