2010-11_ANNUAL_REPORTS_-_FINAL_VERSION_(3)

short-haul truck and rail operators. The M-64 service between Hampton Roads and Richmond, VA has
demonstrated how state, Federal, local, and private partners can develop and grow marine highway
services by leveraging minimal resources from several different entities. Cargo volumes on the service
have grown by over 400% since its inauguration due to the marketing efforts of the Virginia Port
Authority, increased service frequency, tax incentives provided by the State of Virginia, and a complete
logistics package created by the service provider. The Ports of Brownsville and Manatee are in the final
stages of negotiating a new agreement with a Jones Act carrier to re-establish the M-10 marine highway
service between those two ports. The modification and construction of new barges needed to support
and expand these services will be performed in U.S. shipyards. Finally, the Department also funded
three feasibility studies totaling $800,000 for potential intermodal marine highway services along the U.
S. West Coast, East Coast and the inland rivers.
Formalizing the Marine Highway Program through designations and funding encourages other
government and private sector stakeholders to incorporate marine highways into their logistics planning.
Further, these designations bring together planners from different jurisdictions to explore ways to reduce
freight congestion and related impacts on the environment.
Throughout FY 2011, the agency continued to focus on developing innovative partnerships between
State, Federal, local, and private partners to make these projects successful and sustainable. This has
included leveraging state and local incentives to incentivize shippers to utilize those services, and
reaching out to domestic and international stakeholders. Strengthening partnerships between State
departments of transportation, carriers, metropolitan planning organizations, ports, foreign governments,
and others will bring greater efficiency and overall success to the expanded use of marine highways
within the Nation’s transportation system.
Domestically, MARAD conducted corridor workshops in San Francisco, CA and New York, NY
focusing on identifying barriers and targeting markets with the greatest potential for success of a marine
highway system along the M-5 and M-95 corridors. We continued this dialogue at the first America’s
Marine Highways regional roundtable, held in Brownsville, TX, on April 26, 2011, where we worked
with representatives from five Gulf Coast States and Mexico to build a local coalition interested in
adding efficient, environmentally-sustainable capacity to the congested I-10 freight corridor.
Internationally, MARAD reached out through the North American Short Sea Shipping Steering
Committee. In 2011, the committee adopted a strategy to identify congested border crossings and to
promote marine highway services as a solution. We also engaged our European counterparts, resulting
in a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) signed with the European Union’s Ministry of Transport on
July 1, 2011. The initial follow-up workshop, held in November 2011, provided an opportunity to
exchange information, ideas, best practices, ways to integrate intelligent transportation technologies,
success stories, and views on short sea shipping objectives and policies. The workshop also provided an
opportunity to share information and concerns on the development of marine highway services and the
potential for LNG technology to change the operational cost structure for services.
Along with these efforts, MARAD’s Office of Marine Highways and Passenger Services continues to
encourage service development and creative solutions to barriers as they are identified.
America’s Ports
National Port Summit
On February 4-5, 2010, DOT hosted the first National Port Summit in San Diego, CA, where more than
150 port directors and staff participated in a two-day conference, culminating in a town hall-style meeting
with Transportation Secretary LaHood. The summit recommended that DOT develop a national port and
freight strategy to integrate the Nation’s port system into the overall transportation system, remove
impediments to the development of marine highways, and establish the Secretary’s Port Advisory Council.
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