Acting Deputy Maritime News

M.E.B.A. Announces Appointment of Captain Lee A. Kincaid as President and James E. Caponiti as Executive Director of the AMC. Together they bring over 60 years of Maritime and Political Experience to the American Maritime Congress. The Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (M.E.B.A.) and the American Maritime Congress (AMC) are pleased to announce the permaent appointment of Captain Lee A. Kincaid as President of the AMC, and James E. Caponiti as Executive Director. “I am very excited to permanently welcome Captain Kincaid as AMC President…

James E. Caponiti, Acting Deputy Maritime Administrator, U.S. Department of Transportation, will deliver a keynote opening address at the 6th Annual North America's Marine Highways Conference, taking place April 1 and 2 at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront, Jacksonville, Florida. "Are We There Yet?" is the theme of the event, produced by The Journal of Commerce Conferences (www.joc.com/conferences). Caponiti's speech will begin at 9 a.m. on April 1. James Caponiti began his Federal career in 1973 at the Cost of Living Council. He joined the Maritime Administration in 1974 -- when it was under the Department of Commerce -- as an Economist in the Office of Subsidy Administration.

Because of the change in administration, Sean T. Connaughton’s tenure as Maritime Administrator will end on January 20, 2009.  At that time, Mr. James E. Caponiti, the agency’s Assistant Administrator, will become Acting Deputy Maritime Administrator. Mr. Caponiti is a member of the federal government’s Senior Executive Service.  He was named Assistant Administrator in May 2008; prior to that, he served as the agency’s Associate Administrator for National Security.

President George W. Bush appointed Julie A. Nelson as the Deputy Administrator of the Maritime Administration on October 6, 2006. Nelson took over the responsibilities of the Acting Deputy Maritime Administrator on May 1, upon the resignation of John Jamian and before the confirmation of Sean T. Connaughton as Maritime Administrator. Nelson officially joined the agency as Chief Counsel in August 2005. Nelson has extensive experience in the Maritime Industry and Admiralty Law, which gives her a solid understanding of the work done within the Maritime Administration. Nelson joins MARAD from Oceaneering International, Inc., an ocean engineering development group, where she served as General Manager and Maritime/Contracts Attorney.

NCL America made U.S. maritime history by christening Pride of Hawai'i, the largest and most expensive U.S.-flagged cruise ship in history. The historic presentation of this new U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed passenger ship continues NCL America's dynamic revival of the U.S.-flagged cruise industry that had seemingly been extinguished in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. At the official christening ceremony at the Port of Los Angeles, Star Cruises Chairman Tan Sri KT LIM and NCL Corporation's President and CEO Colin Veitch were joined by the Honorable Daniel K. Inouye, senior United States Senator from Hawai'i, who sponsored and named the vessel at the pier side event.

MarAd Administration will present the Shipper Award to the Fluor Corporation of Aliso Viejo, Calif, for their continuing support of the United States Merchant Marine. Acting Deputy Maritime Administrator Julie Nelson will present the award in a ceremony hosted by the Propeller Club of the United States at the Washington Navy Yard. Fluor has moved more than 32,000 metric tons of Iraq reconstruction cargoes and maintained a continuous supply chain through Iraqi ports.

Gov. Kathleen Blanco late on May 5 vetoed a proposed offshore natural gas port over concerns that fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico could be harmed. Blanco had until May 7 to file any objections to a proposed federal license for the Main Pass Energy Hub, a liquefied natural gas terminal being sought by Freeport McMoRan Energy LLC, a subsidiary of New Orleans-based McMoRan Exploration Co. "Until studies demonstrate that the operation of the open rack vaporizer will not have an unacceptable impact on the surrounding ecosystem, I will only support LNG terminals using a closed loop system having negligible impacts to marine life," Blanco said in a letter sent on May 5 to Julie A. Nelson, acting deputy maritime administrator and chief counsel for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MarAd) has sold two obsolete vessels in its Beaumont Reserve Fleet for recycling. Southern Scrap Material Company, LLC (SSMC), of New Orleans, La., has purchased two vessels, Allison Lykes and Mallory Lykes, both located in the National Defense Reserve Fleet, Beaumont, TX, for $50,000 apiece. Both vessels are cargo ships built in the mid-1960s. The two ships are scheduled to leave the fleet site for New Orleans the last week of June. “MarAd is taking advantage of the high global prices for recycled steel to get the best bargain for the American taxpayer,” said Acting Deputy Maritime Administrator Julie Nelson, noting that, in the recent past, MARAD has often had to pay to have the ships recycled.