[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 54 (Thursday, March 20, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13755-13757]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-6761]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket No. MARAD 2003-14708]


Sargeant Marine, Inc.; Notice of Application for Written 
Permission for Temporary Transfer to the Domestic Trade

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of application.

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SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 506 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as 
amended (Act), Sargeant Marine, Inc. (Sargeant),

[[Page 13756]]

by letter dated March 11, 2003, as amended, requests approval for the 
temporary transfer of the ASPHALT COMMANDER (O.N. 663105) to the 
domestic trade for a period up to six months commencing on April 1, 
2003. Sargeant advises that the ASPHALT COMMANDER would load asphalt 
and 6 fuel oil in Texas and discharge at any combination of 
ports from Tampa, Florida, then south to the southern tip of Florida, 
plus any port on the East Coat of the United States from Florida to 
Maine, plus Puerto Rico, during the requested six month period in the 
domestic trade in order to alleviate the shortage of these products on 
the East Coast, Florida and Puerto Rico. The ASPHALT COMMANDER (ex 
FALCON CHAMPION) was built with the aid of construction-differential 
subsidy (CDS) and is prohibited from operation in the exclusive 
domestic trade without the prior written permission of the Maritime 
Administration (MARAD).

DATES: You should submit your comments early enough to ensure that 
Docket Management receives them not later than closes of business March 
27, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Your comments should refer to docket number MARAD 2003-
14708. You may submit your comments in writing to: Docket Clerk, U.S. 
DOT Dockets, Room PL-401, 400 7th St., SW., Washington, DC 20590. You 
may also submit them electronically via the Internet at http://dmses.dot.gov/submit. You may call Docket Management at (202) 366-9324 
and visit the Docket Room from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., EST., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal Holidays. An electronic version of this document 
is available on the World Wide Web at http://dms.dot.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: You may call Gregory V. Sparkman, 
Chief, Division of Shipping Analysis, (202) 366-2400. You may send mail 
to Gregory V. Sparkman, Chief, Division of Shipping Analysis, Room 
8117, Maritime Administration, 400 Seventh St, SW., Washington, DC 
20590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Comments

How Do I Prepare and Submit Comments?

    Your comments must be written and in English. To ensure that your 
comments are correctly filed in the Docket, please include the docket 
number of this document in your comments. We encourage you to write 
your primary comments in a concise fashion. However, you may attach 
necessary additional documents to your comments. There is no limit on 
the length of the attachments. Please submit two copies of your 
comments, including the attachments, to Docket Management at the 
address given above under ADDRESSES.
    If you wish Docket Management to notify you upon its receipt of 
your comments, enclose a self-addressed, stamped postcard in the 
envelope containing your comments. Docket Management will return the 
postcard by mail.

How Do I Submit Confidential Business Information?

    If you wish to submit any information under a claim of 
confidentiality, you should submit three copies of your complete 
submission, including the information you claim to be confidential 
business information, to the Chief Counsel, Maritime Administration, at 
the address given above under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. You 
should mark ``CONFIDENTIAL'' on each page of the original document that 
you would like to keep confidential. In addition, you should submit two 
copies, from which you have deleted the claimed confidential business 
information, to Docket Management at the address given above under 
ADDRESSES. When you send comments containing information claimed to be 
confidential business information, you should include a cover letter 
setting forth with specificity the basis for any such claim.

Will the Agency Consider Late Comments?

    We will consider all comments that Docket Management receives 
before the close of business on the comment closing date indicated 
above under DATES. To the extent possible, we will also consider 
comments that Docket Management receives after that date.

How Can I Read the Comments Submitted by Other People?

    You may read the comments received by Docket Management at the 
address given above under ADDRESSES. The hours of the Docket Room are 
indicated above in the same location. You may also see the comments on 
the Internet. To read the comments on the Internet, take the following 
steps: Go to the Docket Management System (DMS) Web page of the 
Department of Transportation http://dms.dot.gov. On that page, click on 
``search.'' On the next page http://dms.dot.gov/search/ type in the 
four-digit docket number shown at the beginning of this document. The 
docket number for this document is MARAD 2203-14708. After typing the 
docket number, click on ``search.'' On the next page, which contains 
docket summary information for the docket you selected, click on the 
desired comments. You may download the comments.

Application Request

    Pursuant to section 506 of the Merchant Marine Act, 1936, as 
amended (Act), Sargeant Marine, Inc. (Sargeant), by letter dated March 
11, 2003, requests approval for the temporary transfer of the ASPHALT 
COMMANDER (O.N. 663105) to the domestic trade for a period up to six 
months commencing on April 1, 2003. Sargeant advises that the ASPHALT 
COMMANDER would load asphalt and 6 fuel oil in Texas and 
discharge at any combination of ports from Tampa, Florida, then south 
to the southern tip of Florida, plus any port on the East Coast of the 
United States from Florida to Maine, plus Puerto Rico, during the 
requested six month period in the domestic trade in order to alleviate 
the shortage of these products on the East Coast, Florida and Puerto 
Rico. The ASPHALT COMMANDER (the ex FALCON CHAMPION) was built with 
construction-differential subsidy (CDS) and is prohibited from 
operating in the exclusive domestic trade without the prior written 
permission of the Maritime Administration (MARAD).
    Sargeant provides the following information in support of its 
section 506 waiver request for the ASPHALT COMMANDER to operate in the 
domestic trade for up to six months commencing April 1, 2003:
    Sargeant states that there are fundamental problems of product 
imbalance and a lack of adequate ocean-going transportation for the 
distribution of asphalt and 6 fuel oil in the United States in 
2003. The events that have caused this imbalance are unique in 2003 and 
are not expected to recur in future years.
    Sargeant advises that generally, the United States imports 
approximately four million tons of asphalt, of which 60 percent, or 2.4 
million tons, comes into Petroleum Administration for Defense District 
(PADD) I, which is the U.S. East Coast. About 60 percent of PADD I 
imports come from Venezuela. Since December 2, 2002, Venezuela has not 
exported asphalt due to disruptions in its oil industry. It is not 
known when Venezuela will resume normal asphalt production. Other 
sources of imported asphalt from Mexico and Spain are not sufficient to 
handle the loss of product from Venezuela. As a result, the current 
inventory levels of PADD I are extremely low.
    Sargeant states that usually at this time of year PADD I asphalt 
inventory

[[Page 13757]]

levels are full in anticipation of the usual demand beginning in 
spring. Average usage during the spring and summer months exceed the 
volume of asphalt that can be produced and imported into the region 
during those months. The vessels utilized to import asphalt from 
Venezuela, Mexico and Spain do not traditionally trade domestically.
    Sargeant states that unless other PADDs, namely PADD III--the Gulf 
Coast region--can fill the product void, the East Coast will experience 
product outages this summer. Florida has already begun to experience 
outages. Such outages will cause the delay of road and housing 
construction, which have been critical to the Administration's plan for 
economic recovery. Sargeant refers to the two attached letters to the 
application, which emphasize these conditions. Although this discussion 
has been limited to asphalt, the same issues are true for 6 
fuel oil.
    Sargeant advises that the current inventory of high-heat, ocean-
going domestic transportation vessels is not adequate to handle this 
one-time ``bubble'' of tonnage needed to move asphalt from PADD III to 
PADD I. Sargeant's proposal to allow the ASPHALT COMMANDER to trade 
asphalt and 6 fuel oil domestically for six months will 
provide alternate tonnage to allow the East Coast to avoid product 
outages.
    According to Sargeant, the current asphalt shortage situation is 
exactly what the waiver provisions were designed for as shown by the 
following facts:
    [sbull] There is an acute shortage of product in one section of the 
United States--the East Coast.
    [sbull] The shortage is a direct result of product disturbances in 
a foreign country--Venezuela.
    [sbull] The shortage is temporary and of a fixed duration--the 
asphalt season will end in the fall of 2003.
    [sbull] The shortage is causing economic difficulties in the United 
States--the lack of product has already caused the price of asphalt to 
increase significantly in Florida. This is causing the Florida DOT to 
consider decreasing the project lettings, thereby decreasing road 
construction projects and corresponding economic activity. Lack of flux 
material will cause a shortage of housing construction materials this 
summer.
    [sbull] There is product available in another area of the United 
States--the Gulf Coast.
    [sbull] There is insufficient domestic transportation equipment to 
handle this temporary need.
    [sbull] The ASPHALT COMMANDER is capable of filling the temporary 
gap in transportation.
    As indicated above, Sargeant refers to two letters it has received 
emphasizing the deteriorating situation with respect to asphalt 
supplies in Florida and the U.S. East Coat. One of the letters is from 
the Asphalt Contractors Association of Florida, Inc. and the other from 
Owens Corning. The Florida group advises that they are facing a serious 
shortage of asphalt products across the state and major supply problems 
in South Florida, as a result of the Venezuela oil strike. The group 
anticipates a growing shortage and any relief that could be provided by 
Sargeant's ASPHALT COMMANDER would be of great help. Owens Corning is 
concerned about the present and future shortages of asphalt on the East 
Coast as a result of the Venezuelan situation and fully supports the 
use of the ASPHALT COMMANDER to bring flux from the U.S. Gulf to the 
U.S. East Coast.
    This notice is published as a matter of discretion, and the fact of 
its publication should in no way be considered a favorable or 
unfavorable decision on the application, as filed, or as may be 
amended. MARAD will consider all comments submitted in a timely 
fashion, and will take such action as may be deemed appropriate.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Program No. 20.800 
Construction-Differential Subsidy)

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.

    Dated: March 17, 2003.
Joel C. Richard,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-6761 Filed 3-19-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-89-P