[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 100 (Tuesday, May 26, 1998)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 28887-28888]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-14087]



[[Page 28885]]

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Part VI





The President





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Proclamation 7098--National Maritime Day, 1998
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  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 100 / Tuesday, May 26, 1998 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 28887]]

                Proclamation 7098 of May 21, 1998

                
National Maritime Day, 1998

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                The United States is and has always been a maritime 
                Nation. Our history is tied to the sea--from the Santa 
                Maria to the Mayflower, from clipper ships to ocean 
                liners, from the Liberty Ships of World War II to the 
                huge, efficient containerships of the 1990s--and our 
                development as a Nation has paralleled the growth of 
                our waterborne commerce.

                As we look forward to the challenges of the 21st 
                century, we continue to rely on our Nation's maritime 
                industry and the U.S. Merchant Marine to keep America 
                competitive in an increasingly global economy. Ships 
                and barges carry more than one billion tons of 
                commercial cargo annually between ports within our 
                Nation. Internationally, more than 95 percent of our 
                imports and exports by weight are transported on 
                water--a total of more than one billion metric tons of 
                cargo each year.

                We also depend on America's maritime industry and 
                Merchant Marine to fill a crucial role in protecting 
                our national interests and the security of our allies. 
                Throughout our history, in times of conflict or crisis, 
                the owners, operators, and crews of U.S.-flag 
                commercial vessels have provided vital sealift 
                capability in support of our Armed Forces, advancing 
                defense, peacekeeping, and humanitarian missions across 
                the globe.

                Our maritime industry has made many important 
                contributions to the economic strength and defense 
                capability of our Nation, and my Administration has 
                worked with the Congress to implement new approaches to 
                ensure the industry's continued viability. Our National 
                Shipbuilding Initiatives are helping to improve the 
                competitiveness of America's maritime industry by 
                seeking to eliminate foreign subsidies, assisting the 
                industry's international marketing efforts, eliminating 
                unnecessary government regulations, and enhancing 
                private sector financing of shipbuilding through 
                Federal loan guarantees. Under the Maritime Security 
                Program, the Federal Government contracts with owners 
                and operators of U.S.-flag vessels to supplement our 
                military sealift capability and gains access to a fleet 
                of modern commercial ships and the sophisticated 
                intermodal transportation system that supports it. 
                Together, these programs protect our Nation's economic 
                interests and our national security by ensuring that 
                U.S.-flag vessels will always sail in the sea lanes of 
                the world.

                In recognition of the importance of the U.S. Merchant 
                Marine, the Congress, by a joint resolution approved 
                May 20, 1933, has designated May 22 as ``National 
                Maritime Day'' and has authorized and requested the 
                President to issue annually a proclamation calling for 
                its appropriate observance.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the 
                United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 22, 
                1998, as National Maritime Day. I urge all Americans to 
                observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, 
                and activities and by displaying the flag of the United 
                States at their homes and in their communities. I also 
                request that all ships sailing under the American flag 
                dress ship on that day.

[[Page 28888]]

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord 
                nineteen hundred and ninety-eight, and of the 
                Independence of the United States of America the two 
                hundred and twenty-second.

                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 98-14087
Filed 5-22-98; 10:37 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P