美國海運業以我們的座右銘「永遠在和平與戰爭中」為榮，它概括了我們的一切。從殖民地時期開始，經過革命、內戰、兩次世界大戰、幾次地區衝突，以及許多自然災害和人道主義災難，我們的經濟安全和國家安全都依賴於此。今天，我們面對一種新的敵人：一種看不見的、使人衰弱的、總是可以致命的疾病。然而，正如第二次世界大戰中勇敢的商船海員制定了安全的戰略，如護航和無線電靜默，以防範德國U型潛水艇。我們的行業和今天的水手們正在尋找方法，以保持生命安全，同時維護我們的供應鏈。
在海事局，我們也在儘自己的職責。我們與所有利益相關者合作，在我們面臨前所未有的危機時確定挑戰和解決方案。我們確保了海員、港口經營人、碼頭工人和造船廠工人被國土安全部指定為關鍵基礎設施工人，以便他們能夠保持關鍵供應鏈的運轉。
我們參與開發和分享安全船員換班的最佳做法，簡化護照續籤，以便海員可以繼續在海外航行，以及開發有助於保持美國政府擁有的預備役部隊（RRF）準備就緒的程序。
我們還與美國商船學院（USMMA）和國家海事學院密切合作，以便學員可以繼續學習在線課程，參加美國海岸警衛隊考試，並朝著海上職業生涯邁出第一步。聯邦政府的資助正在幫助所有的學院安全地培養下一代的水手來支持國家（海洋事業）。
一直以來，我們都確保MARAD完全可靠，該行業所開展的日常工作，包括美國海上警報和全球海上安全威脅諮詢，繼續使海上和岸上的人員免受可能的危險。我們也將目光放長遠，甚至在與新冠肺炎戰鬥的同時，繼續執行我們在MARAD的使命：發展美國籍船舶航運，使我們的港口現代化，支持我們重要的造船廠和維修設施，更好地利用我們的內河航道，盡我們所能幫助美國的海運業繼續為美國經濟提供燃料。
就在新冠肺炎到達我們的海岸之前，我們很高興地宣布，我們的船舶建造經理TOTE Services選擇了賓夕法尼亞州費城的費城造船廠有限公司來建造國家安全多任務船舶（NSMV），以取代我們老化的學校船隊。
我們的國家海事學院將有史以來第一次擁有一艘世界級的、專門建造的、美國製造的訓練船，具有眾多的教學設施、一座先進的駕駛臺和可供600名學員在海上訓練的空間。NSMV還將支持聯邦政府應對國內和國際災難的努力，因為它擁有醫療能力、醫療指揮和控制空間，以及在靠泊時最多可接納1000名急救人員和恢復人員。我們要求最大限度地使用合格的美國設備，對於任何來自海外的（醫療）設備，100%使用美國籍船舶運輸。
今年，我們又一次通過美國海洋公路計劃（AMHP）投資了國內的海洋產業。我國有12000英裡的內河航道。我們的道路、橋梁、鐵路和港口的擁堵給美國造成了高達1660億美元的損失；卡車在其中佔了200億美元。通過把貨物從我們的公路運到我們的河流和其他重要的水道，我們可以減少交通擁堵、相關成本和汙染，同時給美國的海運業打一劑強心針。到目前為止，交通部已經為這項工作頒發了3300多萬美元的海洋公路競爭性撥款，我們預計不久將再頒發950萬美元。
今年早些時候，我們還在該行業發起了一項新的重大投資：我們價值2.8億美元的港口基礎設施發展計劃（PIDP）。我們的港口是國家和地區就業引擎。這些工程款將推動改善貨運基礎設施的努力，以確保滿足美國目前和未來的貨運需求。就在上個月，通過我們的小型造船廠補貼計劃，我們還發放了24項補貼，總額近2000萬美元，幫助小型造船廠實現現代化，使它們在建造商業船隻方面更有效率。美國造船廠提供了近40萬個工作崗位，為美國的經濟貢獻了370多億美元。
隨著我們繼續與新冠肺炎做鬥爭，我們生活的許多方面可能會永遠改變，但我相信，作為一個政府機構和一個行業，我們將獲得使我們更強大的經驗。而美國海事政策的基礎——瓊斯法案、貨物優先權和海事安全計劃——將繼續存在。
貨物永遠是王道。這就是為什麼我們最近與國防採辦大學（DAU）合作，推出了基於網絡的貨物優先法律法規培訓課程，以提高合規性，並將更多非聯邦軍事貨物運往懸掛美國國旗的船隻。這將繼續幫助美國籍船舶運營商保持競爭力，並將美國工人放在首位。
海事安全計劃仍然至關重要。作為每年每艘船每年500萬美元的聯邦費用的回報，MSP為我們的國家提供了60艘現代化的，在軍事上有用的，在全球貿易中活躍的，可隨時待命的，滿足緊急需求的，有軍事用途的美國艦隊的保證。這個至關重要的計劃的年度預算為3億美元，如果您考慮使用納稅人資金來複製MSP艦隊和多式聯運資源和網絡，估計將花費600億美元以上，這是一個相當划算的選擇。
最後，《瓊斯法案》是我們的國內商船法，它為美國船隻保留了美國內貿運輸，僱傭美國船員，並在美國造船廠建造美國船舶，這對維持美國航運、我們的造船能力和美國民用水手的就業至關重要。瓊斯法案是美國的就業機器，創造了540億美元的美國經濟產出，支持了近65萬個美國就業崗位。
就像每個美國人一樣，這對我們的代理機構和我們的行業來說都是一個充滿挑戰的時刻。但支持美國海運業的工作仍在美國各地進行。正如第二次世界大戰中的水手們學會了如何更安全地航行在危險的水域一樣，我們也學會了適應、合作和尋找新的方法來支持和保護我們所珍視的東西：作為一個海洋國家，我們國家的經濟依賴於海上貿易。
我感到非常自豪的是，在我掌管馬拉德時，國會和川普總統齊聚一堂，用國會金質獎章向二戰平民商船水手致敬。我認為早就應該承認他們付出的服務和犧牲了。我們可以學習那些水手的勇氣和力量來帶領我們度過困難時期。一如既往，他們的座右銘——「永遠在和平與戰爭中」——將引導我們度過暴風雨。
以下是原文：
The U.S. maritime industry takes great pride in our motto: 「In Peace and War.」 It sums what we’re all about. From colonial times, through the Revolution, the Civil War, two World Wars, several regional conflicts, and many natural and humanitarian disasters, we got the cargo delivered because our economic security and our national security depend on it.
Today, we confront a new kind of enemy: an invisible, debilitating, and too often deadly disease. Yet, just as the courageous merchant mariners of World War II developed strategies that reduced risk—such as convoys and radio silence—to guard against U-boats, our industry and today’s volunteer mariners are finding ways to stay safe while keep our supply chain going.
At the Maritime Administration (MARAD), we』ve been doing our part, too. We’re engaged with all our stakeholders to identify challenges and solutions while we face a crisis like no other in recent history. We ensured that mariners, port operators and longshoremen, and shipyard workers were designated by the Department of Homeland Security as Critical Infrastructure Workers, so they could keep critical supply lines moving.
Our engagement led to the development and sharing of best practices for safe crew rotations, streamlined passport renewals so mariners can keep sailing overseas, and procedures that are helping maintain the readiness of our government-owned surge sealift fleet, the Ready Reserve Force (RRF).
We also worked closely with the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) and the state maritime academies so cadets could continue their courses online, take their U.S. Coast Guard exams, and take the final steps toward careers at sea. Federal funding is helping all the academies safely prepare the next generation of mariners to support the Nation.
All the while, we』ve made sure that MARAD is fully crewed and that the daily work that the industry relies on, including U.S. Maritime Alerts and Advisories on global maritime security threats, continues to keep those at sea and ashore safe from possible dangers.
We’re keeping our eyes on the horizon, too—even while battling COVID-19—to stay on course with our mission here at MARAD: to grow U.S.-flag shipping, modernize our ports, support our essential shipyard and repair facilities, make better use of our inland waterways, and to do all we can to help America’s maritime industry continue to fuel America’s economy.
Just before COVID-19 reached our shores, we had the pleasure of announcing that our vessel construction manager TOTE Services had selected Philly Shipyard, Inc. of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to build the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) replacement for our aging school ship fleet.
For the first time ever, our state academies will have a world-class, purpose-built, American-made training vessel featuring numerous instructional spaces, a full training bridge, and space for up to 600 cadets to train at sea. The NSMV will also support federal government efforts in response to national and international disasters, as it includes medical capabilities, command and control spaces, and berthing for up to 1,000 first responders and recovery workers when pierside. We required maximum use of qualified American-sourced equipment and 100 percent utilization of U.S.-flag shipping for any equipment coming from overseas.
Again this year, we invested in our domestic maritime industry through the America’s Marine Highways Program (AMHP). Our country has 12,000 miles of navigable inland waterways. Congestion on our roads, bridges, railways, and in ports costs the United States as much as $166 billion; trucks account for $20 billion of this cost. By moving cargoes from our roads to our rivers and other waterways where it makes sense, we can reduce congestion, its related costs and pollution, while giving America’s maritime industry a shot in the arm. To date, DOT has awarded more than $33 million in competitive Marine Highway Grants to do just that and we expect to award another $9.5 million soon.
We also launched a major new investment in the industry earlier this year: our $280 million Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP). Our ports are national and regional jobs engines. These grants will fuel efforts to improve facility and freight infrastructure to ensure our Nation’s freight transportation needs, present and future, are met.
Just last month, through our Small Shipyard Grant Program, we also awarded 24 grants totaling nearly $20 million to help small shipyards modernize, making them more efficient in constructing commercial vessels. American shipyards support nearly 400,000 jobs and contribute more than $37 billion to our economy.
As we move forward in continuing to deal with COVID-19, many aspects of our lives might be forever changed, but I believe that we will come through this experience stronger as a county, as a government agency, and as an industry. However, the foundations of U.S. maritime policy— the Jones Act, Cargo Preference, and the Maritime Security Program - will endure.Cargo is always king. That’s why, in collaboration with Defense Acquisition University (DAU), we recently launched accredited, web-based training courses on cargo preference laws and regulations to boost compliance and drive more non-military federal cargo to U.S.-flag vessels. This will continue to help U.S.-flag operators remain competitive and put American workers first.
The Maritime Security Program remains essential. In return for an annual federal payment of $5 million per ship/per year, the MSP provides our Nation with assured access to a fleet of 60 modern, militarily useful U.S. ships, active in global trade and available 「on call」 to meet contingency needs. This vital program has an annual budget of $300 million – quite a bargain when you consider that replicating the MSP fleet and intermodal resources and networks with taxpayer funds would cost an estimated $60 billion plus.
Finally, the Jones Act—our domestic cabotage law—which reserves cargo moving between American ports for American ships, crewed my American mariners, and built in American shipyards is central to sustaining U.S. shipping, our shipbuilding capacity, and the employment of American civilian mariners. Jones Act shipping is a U.S. job machine, resulting in $54 billion in U.S. economic output and supporting nearly 650,000 American jobs.
Just as for every American, this has been a challenging time for our agency and our industry. But the work of supporting the U.S. maritime industry goes on across America. Just as World War II mariners learned how to more safely navigate dangerous waters, we』ve learned to adapt, to collaborate, and to find new ways to support and protect what we hold dear: that as maritime nation, our Nation’s economy depends on trade by sea.
I take great pride in the fact that, during my watch the MARAD, Congress and President Trump came together to honor World War II civilian merchant mariners with the Congressional Gold Medal. It was a long overdue recognition of their service and sacrifice. We can look to the spirit of those mariners for courage and strength to carry us through difficult times. As always, their example of service — 「In Peace and War」 — will guide us through the tempest.
作者：Mark H. Buzby，美國海事管理局局長。By Mark H. Buzby, U.S. Maritime Administrator.