| Print | Close Window | AMO Currents - Posted: May 20, 2010 |
May 22 is National Maritime Day
On Friday, May 21, American Maritime Officers and the AMO Safety and Education Plan's STAR Center will host a Maritime Day observance in Dania Beach, Fla., beginning at 11 a.m. at the I.T. Parker Community Center. Guest speakers will include Joe Colon of the Gulfstream Chapter of the American Merchant Marine Veterans, Capt. Cynthia Stowe, deputy commander of U.S. Coast Guard Sector Miami and Dania Beach Mayor C.K. McElyea. The event will include a wreath laying ceremony.
AMO will also be participating in the National Maritime Day observance May 22 in San Pedro, Calif., beginning at 11 a.m. at the Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial and Walls of Honor.
Earlier in the week, AMO participated in Maritime Day observances in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Department of Transportation and Military Sealift Command.
American merchant mariners have a distinguished tradition of service to the nation dating to the Revolutionary War. During World War II, the U.S. merchant marine mounted a massive sealift, transporting reinforcements and supplies to allied forces around the world. By the end of the war, close to 7,000 merchant mariners had been killed, approximately 11,000 had been wounded and 604 had been taken prisoner.
"Seafarers have long been the unacknowledged and unwavering backbone of our society," said Acting Maritime Administrator David Matsuda at the Department of Transportation's National Maritime Day observance on Tuesday. At the event, 11 mariners, including two members of American Maritime Officers - Capt. Ben Tidwell, master of the S/S Cape May, and Capt. Todd Cooper, master of the S/S Cornhusker State - were presented with Merchant Marine Medals for Outstanding Achievement in recognition of their contributions to the Haiti relief mission, Operation Unified Response.
American merchant mariners provided military sealift support during the conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Haiti, Somalia, Grenada and the Balkans. Merchant mariners delivered nearly 90 percent of the defense cargoes to the war zone during the first Gulf War. U.S. contract civilian and civil service mariners currently serve our Armed Forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, delivering more than 85 percent of the equipment, supplies, sustainment cargoes and vehicles to U.S. troops in the theater of operations.
"Today, our merchant mariners have a large footprint," said Commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command Adm. John Harvey Jr., speaking at Military Sealift Command's National Maritime Day observance on Tuesday. Three wreaths were placed to honor mariners who lost their lives at sea and a 21-gun salute was sounded.
The U.S. merchant marine serves an essential role in our nation's commerce and economic security. U.S.-flagged vessels transport finished goods, fuel and liquid cargoes, bulk resources, agricultural goods, vehicles, and other cargoes in domestic and international trades. American mariners and U.S. vessels provide commuter and passenger transportation, as well as docking, towing, dredging, salvage, disaster relief, humanitarian aid, scientific research and recreational services across the oceans, in our coastal waters, on the Great Lakes and in our harbors and inland waterways.
One of the most important laws to the U.S. merchant marine and American maritime industry is the Jones Act, America's preeminent cabotage law. The Jones Act reserves many domestic maritime activities for vessels built, owned and registered in the U.S. and crewed by American merchant mariners. The Jones Act trades annually support nearly 500,000 family-sustaining jobs and create a payroll in excess of $29 billion.
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