MARAD LETTER


USDOT MARITIME ADMINISTRATION
ADMINISTRATOR
1200 NEW JERSEY AVENUE SE
WASHINGTON, DC
FEBRUARY 19, 2014

Captain F. Bradley Wellock, President
North Atlantic Ports association, Inc
65 Rockland Avenue
Portland, ME  04102

Dear Captain Wellock:

Thank you for your letter of February 4, 2014 to Secretary Foxx, forwarding us the North Atlantic Ports association resolution supporting the development of a national port strategy and the marine highway system.  I have been asked to respond.

As you may be aware, the Secretary recently hosted a marine symposium as part of the development of a national maritime strategy which will encompass international and domestic trade, as well as seaport infrastructure. Our next maritime symposium, which will be focussed on domestic waterborne transportation, will be held here in Washington, DC, in the spring of this year and I would like to encourage you to attend.

Additionally, the Maritime Administration's recently developed port infrastructure development program, or StrongPorts as it is now known, is taking a system-wide approach in working with state and local planning organizations to integrate ports into state freight plans, among other things.

Freight provisions  in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP 21) legislation make incorporating marine highway routes into our nation's surface transportation system more important than ever.  Additionally, MAP 21 calls for the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a national strategic plan.  That strategy will include ports and waterborne transportation.

Should you wish to further discuss the development of our national  maritime strategy, StronPorts, or America's marine highway program, please contact Angela Stroschein, Office of Congressional and Public affairs at (202) 366 5747.

Sincerely,
Paul N. Jaenichen
Acting Maritime Administrator





CONTACT:

Captain F Bradley Wellock

Executive Director

North Atlantic Ports Association Inc.

205 North Street

Walpole, MA 02081

(774) 357-9780

Northatlanticpa@gmail.com


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