MARAD Makes a Grab for National Maritime Heritage Act Grant Money by Polly Parks The Maritime Administration (MARAD) Authorization Act of 20 10 (Section 3 of Senate Bill 1308) will allow the MARAD Administrator to take past and future funding previously allocated to the 1993 National Maritime Heritage Act G rants Program for exclusive use by MARAD. On 23 July 2009 the language was put into the Senate Armed Services Committee bill and will go to conference. The Act currently allocates a quarter of the funds MARAD receives from the sale of National Defense Reserve Fleet vessels to the Department of Interior-administrated grants program. The language makes clear that MARAD has not been remitting the dedicated funding, which includes over $1.5 million fro m scrap sales in FY2008. The last time MARAD remitted funding, $652,6 16 in 1998, several hundred proposals were received. The 39 grantees from 20 states included maritime education and information access proj ects, exhibit and heritage trail development, preservation of ships, lighthouses and oth er maritime properties, and survey and co nservation of underwater archaeological resources for grants ranging in from $2,500 to slightly less than $5 0,000.
The Act's statutory language mandated a multi-sector Advisory Panel, including a MARAD representative. The Panel's authority ended in 2000. Within DOI, program administration fell ro the National Park Service Maritime Heritage Program. The Maritime Grant Program web page (http: //www. nps.gov/history/ maritime/grants.htm) states that there is no funding available due to environmental and wo rker safety issues associated with the [MARAD] program's so urce. However, since 2005, Congress has been allocating between $15 to $25 million per year to subsidize the dismantling of obsolete vessels that are not sold outright and no funding from scrap sales goes back into the MARAD Ship Disposal Program. At press time, it is unclear whether the language will make it through MARAD-related committee conferences, but this is the kind of obscure change that can easily get passed into law. Interested groups and individuals should contact their Congressperson or Senato rs before the bill is voted upon. Polly Parks manages the Washington DC office of Southern Recycling, LLC, a pre-qualified MARAD ship recycler that buys MARAD vessels and believes the funding should remain for disbursement through the National Maritime H eritage Act Grant Program.
CLASSIFIED ADS Explore the winding Essex River water ways rich with shipbuilding heritage. 1 Y2 hour narrated sightseeing cruises offered daily May through October, call for reservations. 1-800-7483706. www.essexcruises.com. Great maritime history books from Washington State University Press. Shop online at ws upress.wsu.edu or call 800354-7360. Free catalog.
A CARELESS WORD-A NEEDLESS SINKING by Captain Arthur R. Moore. Documented account of catastrophic losses suffered by American Merchant Marine and Armed Guard during WWII. 720 pp, lists crew members & ships, profusely illustrated. Eighth printing sponsored by American Merchant Marine Veterans. E-mail: gemurphy@carroll. com.
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BOOKS: It Didn't Happen on My Watch and Scuttlebutt by George E. M urphy. Memoirs of forty- three years with United States Lines aboard cargo and passenger ships. Anecdotes of captains, ch ief engineers, crew members and the company office. Web site: www.gemurphy.com; e-mail: gemurphy@carroll. com.
Photos of "messing around" boat yards, sailing in wooden yachts & boats. Hang beautiful pictures in your home or office. See (www.StanSinowitzPhotos.com)
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Custom Ship Models Half Hulls. For a Free Catalog, write to: Spencer, Box 1034, Q uakertown, PA 18951.
CUSTOM SCRIMSHAW on antique ivory. Made by hand in the USA by me, Peter Driscoll. www.scrimstore.com. For a free brochure: chipsmay@aol.com; Ph. 336 998-0459. EXPERIENCED MODEL BUILDER. Ray Guinta, PO Box 74, Leonia, NJ 07605; www.modelshipsbyrayguinta.com. Jonesport Nautical Antiques. We offer wo rld class nautical antiques & nautical gifts (old & new); 800 996-5655 or on the web at www. nauticalantiques.com .
Retire cheap(er) on the "Great Gulf Coast of Florida." Less crowded, lots of maritime history, excellent health care, beautiful white beaches & great outdoor activities. Lots, acreage & homes. www.FloridaVacantProperty.com. Bob Davis Realty of Pensacola- Ph. 850 982-1907 . NEXT VOYAGE WILL BE DIFFERENT by Captain Thomas E. Henry. Acco unts from my 37 years at sea. Available through Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. Also available, CRACKING HITLER'S ATLANTIC WALL. Call 772 2875603 (EST) or e-mail: Arcome@aol.com .
Advertise in Sea History ! Ph. 914 737-7878, ext. 235 or e-mail: advertising@seahistory.org. SEA HISTORY 128, AUTUMN 2009
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