[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 16 (Friday, January 24, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4354-4355]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01200]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Maritime Administration


Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement/Joint Planning Advisory 
Group Meeting

AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA) program 
requires that a notice of the time, place, and nature of each VISA 
Joint Planning Advisory Group (JPAG) meeting be published in the 
Federal Register. On January 14, 2020, the Maritime Administration 
(MARAD) and the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) co-hosted a 
classified VISA JPAG meeting at Scott Air Force

[[Page 4355]]

Base, Illinois. The JPAG is co-chaired by MARAD and USTRANSCOM and is 
convened jointly. The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade 
Commission were informed of the JPAG meeting prior to its occurrence, 
in accordance with VISA program requirements.
    Participants in the JPAG meeting were required to possess a secret 
clearance due to the classified nature of the event and attendance at 
the meeting was by invitation only. MARAD and USTRANSCOM invited 
participating VISA carriers and representatives of maritime labor 
organizations to attend the meeting. In addition, representatives from 
the U.S. Department of Transportation, MARAD, the U.S. Department of 
Homeland Security, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and 
the Department of Defense (DOD) to include the Office of the Secretary 
of Defense, USTRANSCOM, the U.S. Navy, the Military Sealift Command, 
and the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, as well as 
operational elements of Geographic Combatant Commands, were in 
attendance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William G. McDonald, Director, Office 
of Sealift Support, U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime 
Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590; 
Telephone (202) 366-0688 or electronic mail to: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Vice Admiral (VADM) Dee L. Mewbourne, Deputy 
Commander, USTRANSCOM, and Mr. Kevin Tokarski, Associate Administrator 
for Strategic Sealift, MARAD, welcomed the participants. Mr. Tokarski 
thanked the industry participants for their continued support. He spoke 
of the unique value of the JPAG in maximizing the effective use of 
joint resources to meet deployment and sustainment requirements and 
expressed confidence that JPAG meetings would serve to prepare 
attendees for what could occur during a VISA activation. VADM Mewbourne 
discussed the current operational picture and said JPAG operations are 
crucial to development of concepts of operations focused on VISA 
participants' ability to meet DOD requirements for moving contingency 
cargo from CONUS Sea Ports of Embarkation to designated OCONUS Ports of 
Debarkation and onward to operational areas.
    The purpose of the JPAG meeting was to: (1) Brief members on 
current strategic and operational developments; (2) affirm industry's 
readiness, ability, and resilience to meet DOD contingency transport 
requirements, and; (3) discuss planning assumptions for potential 
deployment scenarios. The meeting was rated a success by industry 
participants, who offered informed and useful information on the 
provision of capacity and resources to meet DOD requirements.
    VISA is a USDOT/DoD Emergency Preparedness Program (EPP) 
administered by MARAD in partnership with USTRANSCOM. The program is 
designed to provide DoD with assured access to vessels and intermodal 
capacity to meet contingency requirements in the event of national 
emergency. On September 30, 2019, MARAD published a notice in the 
Federal Register/Vol. 84, No. 189, 51710, announcing extension of the 
VISA program until October 1, 2024.
    The following ocean carriers are VISA participants:

American International Shipping, LLC
American President Lines, Ltd.
American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier, LLC
APL Marine Services, Ltd.
APL Maritime, Ltd.
Argent Marine Operations, Inc.
Beyel Brothers Inc.
Columbia Coastal Transport, LLC
Crimson Shipping Co., Inc.
Crowley Marine Services, Inc.
Crowley Puerto Rico Services, Inc.
Curtin Maritime, Corporation
Dann Marine Towing, LC
Dann Ocean Towing, Inc.
Dunlap Towing Company
Farrell Lines Incorporated
Fidelio Limited Partnership
Foss International, Inc.
Foss Maritime Company
Hapag-Lloyd USA, LLC
JM Ships, LLC
Laborde Marine, LLC
Liberty Global Logistics, LLC
Liberty Glory Corporation
Lynden Incorporated & Affiliates
Maersk Line, Limited
Matson Navigation Company, Inc.
McAllister Towing and Transportation Co., Inc.
McCulley Marine Services, Inc.
Moran Towing Corporation
National Shipping of America, LLC
Northcliffe Ocean Shipping & Trading Company, Inc.
Pacific Maritime Freight, Inc.
Pasha Hawaii Holdings LLC
Patriot Shipping, LLC
Resolve Towing & Salvage, Inc.
Samson Tug & Barge Co., Inc.
Schuyler Lines Navigation Company, LLC
Seabridge, Inc.
Sealift, Inc.
SeaTac Marine Services, LLC
Smith Maritime, Inc.
Stevens Towing Company, Inc.
Stevens Transportation, LLC
Superior Maritime Services, Inc.
TOTE Maritime Alaska, Inc.
TOTE Maritime Puerto Rico, LLC
Trailer Bridge, Inc.
Waterman Steamship Corporation
Waterman Transport, Inc.
Weeks Marine, Inc.
Western Towboat Company
Young Brothers, Limited

(Authority: 49 CFR 1.93(l), 44 CFR part 332)

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    Dated: January 21, 2020.

    By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration .
[FR Doc. 2020-01200 Filed 1-23-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-81-P