American Maritime Partnership Takes the Helm from Maritime Cabotage Task Force
Coalition Stands for Strong National and Economic Security Policies

February 22, 2011

For Immediate Release
Contact: Ron Bonjean/Phil Singer (202) 349-1402

(Washington, DC) – American Maritime Partnership (AMP) is the new name for the Maritime Cabotage Task Force, the largest coalition of maritime interests in the United States, which has been in operation since 1995. The new moniker better reflects the coalition's focus on the domestic maritime industry‘s role in promoting national, homeland, and economic security. To increase awareness of itself in the social media world, AMP has launched a new website: www.americanmaritimepartnership.com, and has new social media applications on Facebook and Twitter.

“A strong domestic maritime industry is critical to our national security, makes our homeland more secure, and fosters nearly 500,000 American jobs,” said James Henry, President of the Transportation Institute and Chairman of the Board of Directors of AMP. "The American Maritime Partnership will continue to support policies that help ensure ample U.S. sealift capacity to defend our nation; keep America's waterways secure with strong laws and oversight of the U.S. government; and work to sustain the nearly 500,000 jobs and $100-plus billion in annual economic output that follow in the industry’s wake. For example, every job in a domestic shipyard results in four additional jobs elsewhere in the U.S. economy.”

Continued growth of the domestic maritime industry hinges on continued adherence to time-tested principles, namely that domestic waterborne commerce and related activities be conducted in vessels that are U.S.–owned, U.S.–built, and U.S.–crewed. AMP will continue to champion these tenets as the only foundation for a strong domestic maritime industry.

“The average American is totally unaware that the U.S. maritime industry pioneered many of the advancements that transformed waterborne commerce worldwide. The containership, the self-unloading vessel, and articulated tug-barge units are but a few examples,” said Henry.

AMP inherits from MCTF the most broad–based coalition the U.S. maritime industry has ever assembled. Its 450–plus members span the United States and its territories and represent vessel owners and operators, shipboard and shore-side labor groups, shipbuilders and repair yards, marine equipment manufacturers and vendors, trade associations, dredging and marine construction contractors, pro–defense groups and companies in other modes of domestic transportation. These diverse but allied interests share a common goal: to promote the long–standing U.S. maritime laws fundamental to national and economic security. Upon a foundation of U.S. ownership, construction and crews, the United States has built an unsubsidized domestic fleet that is the world leader in efficiency, innovation and safety.

Under U.S. domestic maritime laws, commonly known as the Jones Act, cargo shipped between two U.S. ports must move on American vessels. These laws are critical for American economic, national, and homeland security, which is why they have enjoyed the support of the U.S. Navy, Members of Congress of both parties, and every President in modern history.

AMP has launched a website called Americanmaritimepartnership.com and has new social media applications on Facebook and Twitter. AMP's Facebook Page can be found under American Maritime Partnership (AMP) and its Twitter page is twitter.com/AMPmaritime.

American Maritime Partnership was founded in 2011 to promote the U.S.–flag fleet engaged in domestic waterborne commerce. Its roots trace back to the 1995 founding of Maritime Cabotage Task Force. With more than 450 members, AMP is the largest coalition ever assembled to represent the domestic segment of the U.S. Merchant Marine. Nationwide, there are more than 40,000 vessels engaged in domestic waterborne commerce and they annually move more than 1 billion tons of cargo and 100 million passengers. The Act has been broadly supported by every Congress and Administration since its passage in 1920 and is considered a key element in the nation’s defense capabilities. For additional information on the American Maritime Partnership, please visit http://www.americanmaritimepartnershhips.com

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