REMARKS AS PREPARED BY
Maritime Administrator Ann C. Phillips,
Old Dominion University (ODU) - Second Annual Maritime Symposium
Norfolk, VA

Introduction

On behalf of the Department of Transportation and the Maritime Administration, I am so happy to be here today for the second Maritime Symposium. A special thank you to Associate VP for Maritime Initiatives, Elspeth McMahon, (insert additional names) for inviting me today.  


How Norfolk supports our nations national security and is a major center for the maritime industry

Norfolk (and the entire Hampton Roads area) is not only a major commercial port but a pillar of our national security.  

The Port of Virginia is a Commercial Strategic Seaport, standing ready to help deploy military cargo. Just last month the port’s Newport News Marine Terminal supported, on short notice, the U.S. Army’s effort to load the equipment that will support the planned temporary pier that will be built off of the coast of Gaza.  That equipment is now making its way across the Atlantic onboard the Maritime Administration’s own Ready Reserve Force vessel MV Roy P. Benavidez.

The Hampton Roads area supports 8 RRF vessel lay berths, providing a home for our strategic sealift vessels while they are in reduced operating status.

The port even provides office space for our Division of Atlantic Operations, which is located at Norfolk International Terminals.

Additionally, as the home to a major seaport, the Hampton Roads area is also critical to our economic security.  As we saw two years ago, ports are the critical nodes in our national freight network – the interface between the maritime industry and surface transportation.  


Collaboration is key for the future of the maritime industry

As you may know, MARAD is the U.S. DOT agency responsible for America's waterborne transportation system. Our mission is far-reaching: to foster, promote, and develop the maritime industry of the United States to meet the nation’s economic and security needs.

One of MARAD’s most critical missions is to collaborate across multiple lines of effort to promote our nation’s ports and waterway resources as a part of an integrated national multimodal transportation system. Awareness is vital and thinking beyond the specific modes as “silos” vs. a broader multimodal understanding is a significant shift to make. 

Advocacy and innovation remain central to our mission and core lines of effort today. MARAD is navigating towards a sustainable future by working to strengthen supply chains, enhance the modernization and resilience of ports and inland waterways through the funding programs we administer, support the maritime workforce, and coordinate across the U.S. DOT as a voice for waterways resources.

MARAD works day and night to maintain the U.S. maritime transportation system by working to increase the use of our nation’s vast navigable waterways network and giving our ports the tools and resources that they need to improve infrastructure, increase efficiency, accommodate the largest carriers, and boost international trade. 

MARAD is deeply focused on the safety, efficiency, and reliability of our port and waterway resources.  

The Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), strengthen under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is delivering $2.25 billion dollars to strengthen port infrastructure and resilience, including here in the Hampton Roads area.

The U.S. Marine Highway Program (USMHP) grant program provides competitive funds to projects that provide capable alternatives to landside transportation or promote marine highway transportation.
Additional grant programs, including those offered by the U.S. DOT [the INFRA and MEGA programs], and EPA [the Clean Ports Program] offer additional funding opportunities.
Ports and the maritime industry are complimentary parts of a vibrant and resilient U.S. Marine Transportation System.

To fill the array of maritime-related specialties and career paths and keep up with the needs of the shipping industry, MARAD vigorously supports maritime training and education programs that are designed to prepare a new generation of mariners to take the helm.


Encourage partnership to strengthen our ecosystem between participants, academia and industry & MARAD Center of Excellence Program

For our part, the Maritime Administration is engaging this problem in two big ways:  

We are enhancing the educational experience of our young people at the USMMA and the State Maritime Academies; and 

We are working to Change Culture to help recruit, train, and retain mariners by reducing barriers to entry.  

First, Mariner Education. It is imperative that we, the government, industry and labor make the maritime industry attractive to young people so that they view it as a viable career option from the start.  MARAD is working this on two fronts:  

I’ll start with the USMMA.  MARAD oversees the Federal Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY and the USMMA plays a huge role in maintaining the U.S. mariner workforce as it places, on average, 200 to 230 licensed mariners into the industry each year.    
  
Protecting the health, safety, and welfare of our midshipmen; and ensuring that the USMMA has appropriate staff and infrastructure to support an environment conducive to learning are my top priorities for the Academy. With this in mind, MARAD has undertaken massive investments in the Academy’s physical plant, and we have done a lot of hiring.    

Specifically, among other things we are:  

Renovating existing academic facilities, including the main engineering training building, Fulton Gibbs Hall, and renovating Samuels Hall - a space that will serve as an expanded dedicated simulator and training facility where Midshipmen can practice and gain experience in ship handling,   

We are improving maintenance and habitability of facilities campus wide under our new campus wide maintenance program, and have made a lot of new hires      

MARAD also provides direct and indirect support for the six State Maritime Academies located in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Texas, California, and Michigan. The most visible component of that support are the federally owned training ships provided to each SMA for meeting the sea-time requirements for CMA credentialling. 

Moreover, the 1st Purpose Built State Maritime Academy Training ship, the National Security Multi-mission Vessel EMPIRE STATE, was delivered to the State University of New York Maritime College in September 2023, replacing its over 60-year-old predecessor. 

Congress has provided funding for all five National Security Multi-Mission Vessels of the State-Class to be placed under contract for construction by the Vessel Construction Manager, Tote Services, Inc. Subsequent NSMVs are scheduled to be delivered in approximately 9-month intervals, with the next due to be delivered to Massachusetts Maritime Academy later this year.   

Continued investment in the National Security Multi-mission Vessel will foster the growth of the Nation’s maritime transportation workforce, including men and women working in the shipbuilding and repair industry, while addressing the need to maintain a sufficient workforce to crew commercial and government-owned sealift ships during a military crisis.  

Not only are these ships designed to train the next generation of mariners with state-of-the-art equipment, they can and will be used in times of National needs such as hurricane response, mass evacuations, etc.
The established commercial design and modular construction process is serving as a model for the US Navy and US Coast Guard.

Training the future of the maritime workforce

To strengthen the mariner workforce, the United States relies on an extensive, world-class system of more than 300 maritime academies, colleges and universities, Centers of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education (CoEs), maritime training centers, maritime labor union institutions, and non-profit institutions. Some of these institutions are located here in Hampton Roads, continuing its rich history of maritime commerce and innovation. 

MARAD’s Centers of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education (CoE) play a vital role in supporting the maritime industry by offering specialized training, fostering collaboration, driving innovation, promoting careers, supporting diversity and inclusion, and contributing to industry professionalism and credibility. The CoE program recognizes maritime training and education institutions that offer pathways to afloat and ashore maritime careers, including careers in the port and intermodal sector as well as shipyards.

CoEs provide a variety of mariner education and training programs tailored to the needs of industry—from two- and four-year, immersive, degree and credential-granting programs to apprenticeship opportunities and credential-specific classes needed for advancement. These institutions offer multiple paths to achieving and maintaining a U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC), ensuring a well-trained and highly skilled maritime workforce.

Through their individual and collective efforts, these Centers contribute to the growth, sustainability, and competitiveness of the maritime sector in the United States. The CoE Program has been authorized to execute a grant program to help meet maritime workforce needs and, although not appropriated, there is tremendous potential for this program to support efforts to improve educational and career training programs for the United States maritime industry workforce.

Mariner Workforce Strategic Plan

Last month, MARAD rolled out its “Mariner Workforce Strategic Plan” for FY 2023 to FY 2027, which lays out a bold, five-year initiative to strengthen MARAD’s mariner education and training programs and improve retention within the industry. The maritime industry supports approximately 650,000 American jobs afloat and ashore, in both domestic and international trade. Supporting mariner retention and attracting the next generation of employees to this industry is paramount to maintaining and strengthening national security and economic prosperity.

With a focus on recruitment, training, and retention, the strategy tackles challenges that have persisted for some time, as well as new and emerging issues. It also expands on MARAD’s existing workforce initiatives, to foster industry growth and expand the pool of U.S. mariners and the U.S.-flag fleet. The strategy identifies six dynamic and comprehensive goals to build on existing programs while identifying new target initiatives for the future; strengthen mariner workforce development programs; support mariner education and training institutions; improve mariner workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion; ensure the availability of sufficient skilled mariners for national security; support maritime innovation; and ensure superior policy execution and stewardship of resources.

Our goals set forth in the strategy support MARAD’s pivotal role in strengthening national security and economic prosperity while meeting the evolving requirements of industry. As the maritime industry continues to support both domestic and international trade, the implementation of these strategic initiatives will ensure the availability of a diverse, skilled, and well-trained maritime workforce. Through collaboration and innovation, MARAD's plan sets a course for the future—promoting industry growth and ensuring the capacity and readiness of our nation's mariners to meet the challenges of tomorrow's limitless seas.

Conclusion

As I close, I want to thank you all for your attention this evening and for your participation at this conference – it is important all of us are here today to address a major ongoing shortcoming in the Maritime industry. I am glad that we can all work together to make it happen.