[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 94 (Wednesday, July 15, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1310-E1311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IMPROVING COST RECOVERY FOR THE COAST GUARD'S INTERNATIONAL PATROL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. SAM GEJDENSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 15, 1998

  Mr. GEJDENSON. Mr. Speaker, in the ``Year of the Titanic,'' I rise to 
salute the brave men and women of the United States Coast Guard who are 
engaged in important life-saving work of the International Ice Patrol. 
The Ice Patrol is headquartered in my district of Groton, Connecticut.
  As a direct result of the sinking of the Titanic, the Ice Patrol was 
established in 1914 as part of the International Maritime 
Organization's first convention of the Safety of Life at Sea. Over 
eighty years later, icebergs still pose a significant threat to 
commercial navigation. The Coast Guard Ice Patrol program provides a 
vital and internationally-recognized contribution to maritime safety.
  The Coast Guard uses C-130 aircraft equipped with side-looking 
airborne radar to overfly North Atlantic shipping lanes during the 
annual ``ice season.'' Radar observations are combined with ocean 
current and water temperature information to produce computer-generated 
predictions of the southern-most limits of floating ice for each day of 
the season. The resulting information is broadcast on open radio 
frequencies to all ships transiting the North Atlantic.
  The great circle route past Newfoundland and Nova Scotia is the 
shortest distance to North America from all European and Mediterranean 
ports. Operators of commercial vessels save tens of thousands of 
dollars per year in fuel costs and voyage time by relying on the Coast 
Guard's radio broadcasts to determine how far north they may safely 
sail and at what speed. In addition, knowledge of ice zone limits over 
time allows ships to pass farther north than they would otherwise 
travel. Without this information, voyages would take longer and be more 
expensive.
  Ice Patrol activities cost the U.S. Coast Guard an average of $3.5 
million per year, not including fixed capital costs. Under a 1956 
International Maritime Organization financial support agreement, the 
U.S. Government collects and tabulates national flag and tonnage data, 
bills other parties to the Agreement, and remits collections to the 
U.S. Treasury.
  When the Agreement about costs was established, most maritime nations 
which used the North Atlantic routes were located in the North Atlantic 
region or were flag states with large amounts of traffic on the route. 
The seventeen current members of the Agreement are: the United States, 
Greece, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, the United Kingdom, Spain, 
Norway, Canada, Panama, France, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, Japan 
and Poland. The Agreement operates on the honor system: membership is 
voluntary, and, because it involves safety of life at sea, the 
information generated by the Coast Guard is broadcast to all North 
Atlantic mariners free-of-charge.
  In recent years, the 1950s-era handshake approach has become 
inequitable for paying members. In short, it is no longer fair. Non-
contributing countries represent a growing share of North Atlantic 
shipping, and as a result, the seventeen Agreement members are becoming 
increasingly unwilling to pick up all non-member costs while using a 
shrinking share of the service. Currently, only about 53 percent of the 
total benefiting tonnage belongs to vessels flagged to contributing 
states. The remaining 47 percent is flagged to ships that use the 
service but do not pay. I would call them ``free riders.'' The United 
States must pay almost $250,000 per year more than it would pay if 
every nation contributed its fair share.
  Another growing problem is the accumulated debt to the United States 
by member countries who are not settling their Ice Patrol accounts. 
Liberia, which dropped out of the agreement in 1990, still owes $1.9 
million in pre-1990 arrearages. All told, current and former Agreement 
members owe the U.S. Treasury over $7.3 million. Unfortunately, this 
balance continues to grow every year.
  At a meeting of member states in late 1996, there was unanimous 
consensus that the Ice Patrol is a valuable navigation safety service 
which should be continued. There was also general agreement that the 
financing system was not working, due to the increasing use of the 
service by non-contributing states. Members authorized the United 
States to explore other collection options. Accordingly, the United 
States Coast Guard intends to raise the issue at the next meeting of 
the International Maritime Organization later this month. They will be 
seeking changes in the agreements that would permit the U.S. to recover 
all costs of the Ice Patrol on a equitable basis.
  Mr. Speaker, for the record, I would like to lend my full support to 
the efforts of the Coast

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Guard and other U.S. government agencies engaged in the provision of 
this valuable safety service. I also encourage the Administration to 
continue vigorously its efforts to replace the current inequitable 
financing system with one that reflects national costs more closely 
tied to the benefits enjoyed by the users involved.

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