[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 208 (Monday, October 28, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64285-64287]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-25396]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration

[Docket No. MARAD-2013-0101]


National Maritime Strategy Symposium: Cargo Opportunities and 
Sealift Capacity

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice of solicitation for agenda topics for a public meeting.

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SUMMARY: The Maritime Administration (MARAD) invites the public and 
other Marine Transportation System stakeholders to participate in a 
discussion intended to develop a robust national maritime strategy. The 
purpose of this public meeting is to gather ideas for improving the 
Nation's cargo opportunities and sealift capacity while ensuring future 
sustainability. Speaker and topic proposals for the public meeting's 
agenda are requested and may be submitted to the docket referenced 
above. The meeting agenda will be published in the docket and on the 
MARAD Web site at a later date, after consideration of responses 
received in the docket.

DATES: We plan to hold the public meeting from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 
daily, January 14 through January 16, 2014.
    Key Date: The deadline to submit agenda topics and ideas for 
discussion is November 29, 2013.
    See Submitting your agenda topics, comments and ideas below for 
specific directions.
    The following are other important anticipated dates and deadlines:

Agenda released on MARAD docket and MARAD website; Registration opens--
December 17, 2013
Deadline to register to attend the public meeting in person--January 3, 
2014
Deadline to register to speak in person, speak by calling in, or to 
listen only by phone--January 3, 2014
Deadline to submit digital presentation materials--January 3, 2014
Call-in and Listen-only information distributed to registrants--January 
8, 2014
Public Meeting--January 14-16, 2014 9:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held in the U.S. Department of 
Transportation (DOT) West Atrium, located on the ground floor of 1200 
New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. Overflow seating will be 
available in adjacent conference rooms.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine S. Gurland, Assistant Chief 
Counsel for Legislation and Regulations, Office of Chief Counsel, MAR-
225, Maritime Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, Washington, DC 
20590; (202) 366-5157; email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Marine Transportation System is a core component of the United 
States' economic and national security. While it has proven to be 
strong and resilient, there is a need to improve and grow the industry 
to ensure the availability and viability of a U.S. Merchant Marine in 
the future. The historic strength of the United States as a maritime 
Nation relies on its global, coastal and inland commercial fleet, its 
ports and intermodal facilities, the national security establishment 
and the maritime workforce that supports and operates U.S.-flagged 
vessels. The purpose of this public meeting is to generate ideas that 
will improve, strengthen and sustain the cargo opportunities and 
sealift capacity. Those ideas will necessarily be focused on the U. S. 
Marine Transportation System.

Request for Public Input to Meeting Agenda and Topics for Discussion

    1. The agenda for the meeting will be developed in collaboration 
with the public. The public is invited to propose agenda topics and to 
comment on the ideas submitted by others at http://www.regulations.gov, 
DOT Docket Number MARAD-2013-0101.
    2. Proposed agenda items should focus on, but are not limited to, 
the

[[Page 64286]]

following topics: fostering and improving the U.S.-flag fleet; 
improving transportation efficiency, speed, availability and cost-
effectiveness; methods to improve overall U.S. economic competitiveness 
though improvements to the Marine Transportation System; improving 
transportation efficiency through interoperability with existing 
infrastructure systems and other modes of transportation; reduction of 
marine transportation pollution and adverse environmental impact; 
expansion of the pool of skilled and available U.S. mariners; 
developing strategically valuable capacity; increasing economical 
waterborne carriage for U.S. businesses; improving U.S. port operations 
and related businesses; improvement of global business and employment 
opportunities for the Nation; and fostering the construction and repair 
of vessels in U.S. shipyards.
    3. Please provide a brief narrative to describe each topic you 
would like the public meeting to address. This information will help 
ensure proper coverage of the many topics and ideas we anticipate to be 
proposed. To ensure that comments are most useful in development of the 
meeting agenda and informing our deliberation and decision process, 
please provide citations to statutes or regulations to which you refer 
and supply any supporting information that would assist MARAD in 
establishing the agenda.
    4. If you would like to propose a topic or an idea and would like 
to make a presentation on that topic or idea, please indicate your 
desire to make a presentation and that you will provide a summary paper 
or presentation materials in support of that topic or idea you are 
proposing for the agenda. Supporting materials can be submitted to the 
docket at a later date.
    5. Comments received during development of the meeting agenda and 
any subsequent review will provide meaningful and significant 
information for senior MARAD officials considering topics to be 
discussed at the public meeting. We will endeavor to include all 
relevant topics proposed in the meeting agenda.
    6. We will post the public meeting agenda to the docket at http://www.regulations.gov and on our Web site at http://www.MARAD.dot.gov by 
December 17, 2013.

Submitting Your Agenda Topics, Comments, and Ideas

    1. We have opened a docket at http://www.regulations.gov to allow 
for submission of written proposals of agenda items for the National 
Maritime Strategy Symposium.
    2. You may submit your inputs identified by DOT Docket Number 
MARAD-2013-0101 by any of the following methods: Web site/Federal 
eRulemaking Portal, Fax, Mail or Hand Delivery. Please use only one of 
these means for each submission. All submissions must include the 
agency name and docket number for this matter. Specific instructions 
follow.
    3. For the Web site/Federal eRulemaking Portal, go to http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments on 
the electronic docket site. To submit your input, type the docket 
number (MARAD-2013-0101) in the ``SEARCH'' box and click ``SEARCH.'' 
Click on ``Submit a Comment'' on the line associated with this Docket 
Number. If you submit an agenda topic, comment or idea online via 
www.regulations.gov, please note that inputs submitted to 
www.regulations.gov are not immediately posted to the site. It may take 
several business days before your submission will be posted on the 
electronic docket.
    4. For submission by telefacsimile/FAX, transmit your agenda topic, 
comment or idea to (202) 493-2251. Be sure to identify the submission 
by DOT Docket Number MARAD-2013-0101.
    5. Submissions by Mail or Hand Delivery should go to Docket 
Management Facility, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE., West Building, Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590, between 
9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except on Federal 
holidays. If you submit your inputs by mail or hand delivery, submit 
them in an unbound format, no larger than 8\1/2\ by 11 inches, suitable 
for copying and electronic filing. If you submit comments by mail and 
would like to know that they reached the Facility, please enclose a 
stamped, self-addressed postcard or envelope.
    6. If you FAX, mail or hand deliver your input we recommend that 
you include your name and a mailing address, an email address or a 
telephone number in the body of your document so that we can contact 
you if we have questions regarding your submission.
    7. Note: All agenda topics, comments or ideas submitted for this 
purpose, including any personal information provided, will be posted 
without change to http://www.regulations.gov.
    8. For access to the docket to read background documents or inputs 
received, go to http://www.regulations.gov at any time or to Room W12-
140 of the Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, except Federal Holidays. To view the docket electronically, 
type the docket number ``MARAD-2013-0101'' in the ``SEARCH'' box and 
click ``Search.'' Click and Open Docket Folder on the line associated 
with this rulemaking.

Anticipated Public Meeting Procedures

    1. Additional details and registration instructions will be 
provided when the meeting and final agenda are announced in December.
    2. The meeting is intended to collect public views and gather 
information to consider in developing a new maritime strategy. 
Therefore, the meeting will be conducted in an informal and non-
adversarial manner.
    3. The Maritime Administrator will preside over the public meeting. 
Senior Department and MARAD officials will also attend this meeting to 
receive comments from the public. During the meeting, we may ask 
questions that will clarify statements or gather more information or 
data to help us understand the issues raised by commenters.
    4. Those who wish to speak during the meeting will be requested to 
advise, no later than November 29th, what topic or topics they would 
like to address through a presentation or on which they would like to 
comment; presentations and amplifying information will be welcome but 
are not required. We hope to be able to accommodate everyone who would 
like to speak at the meeting, but if there are more interested 
participants than time available, we will limit participants in order 
of date and time of registration. If available, time will be allotted 
to those attending the meeting in person to speak, even if they had not 
previously registered to speak. For those who wish to make comments, 
but for whom there is not time available or who do not wish to speak, 
it will be possible to post comments to the public docket. [See also 
Submitting your agenda topics, comments, and ideas section.]
    5. The public meeting will be broadcast via live Web streaming by a 
link from http://www.MARAD.dot.gov and a listen-only telephone 
connection for which participants will need to register at a later 
date. Members of the public will be invited to make comments in person 
at the venue, through a call-in number, or by entry in the MARAD 
docket. Further details regarding the logistics of the public meeting 
will be published in a second

[[Page 64287]]

notice in the Federal Register prior to the meeting.
    6. A transcript of the public meeting will be made available via 
our Web site at http://www.MARAD.dot.gov and posted to the docket at 
www.regulations.gov. The recorded webcast video will remain available 
following the meeting via a link from our Web site at 
www.MARAD.dot.gov.

Privacy Act Statement

    Anyone is able to search all comments entered into any of our 
dockets by the name of the individual submitting the comment (or 
signing the comment, if submitted on behalf of an association, 
business, labor union, etc.). You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act 
Statement in the Federal Register published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 
19476, 04/11/2011) or at http://www.dot.gov/privacy.html.

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. 610; E.O., 13563, 76 FR 3821, Jan. 21 2011; 
E.O. 12866, 58 FR 51735, Oct. 4, 1993.
* * * * *

    Dated: October 23, 2013.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
Julie Agarwal,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-25396 Filed 10-25-13; 8:45 am]
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