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President signs new MSP (11/24)

A 10-year extension of the U.S. Maritime Security Program (MSP), included in the FY 2004 National Defense Authorization Act, was signed into law Nov. 24. President Bush put his signature on the Defense bill during a ceremony at the Pentagon. The reauthorized MSP will begin immediately as the current program expires, in 2005. The U.S. Senate earlier this month voted 95-3 to adopt the conference report on the National Defense Authorization Act; the U.S. House of Representatives earlier cleared the conference report by a vote of 362-40. “This is a tremendous victory for our entire industry, and it is a major step toward continued job security for Seafarers. It’s also quite clearly a great boost to America’s national security,” stated SIU President Michael Sacco, who had testified before Congress in favor of the extended MSP and who personally thanked President Bush at the signing ceremony. “The people who supported the expanded MSP all deserve credit, from President Bush to the House and Senate, from maritime labor to the military,” Sacco continued. “There is no way to overstate the importance and effectiveness of this program.” The new MSP increases the number of participants from 47 ships to 60 ships; provides financial assistance to construct five newly built tankers in the United States that are capable of carrying military petroleum products during a war; establishes a 30-month period to replace older ships with newer Defense Department-approved and militarily useful ships; and increases the annual payment to ship operators from $2.1 million per year to $2.6 million for the first three years of the program, increasing to $2.9 million in FY 2009, and increasing to $3.1 million for the remaining four years of the program. The new program begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2015. The MSP has been a key element of America’s economic and defense security since its enactment in 1996. The original 10-year program provides limited funding for 47 U.S.-flag commercial vessels, particularly containerships and roll-on/roll-off vessels, which are available to the Department of Defense in times of war or national emergency.