MARAD is a US agency responsible for maintaining the National Defense Reserve Fleet, managing financial programs to promote the maritime service, and overseeing federal and state maritime academies. It has contracts with US-based commercial shipowners to access cargo vessels in emergency situations.
MARAD, or the United States Maritime Administration, is an agency operating under the auspices of the United States Department of Transportation. This department of the United States Maritime Administration is responsible for several functions. Chief among these is the maintenance of the National Defense Reserve Fleet or NDRF, which serves as a contingency source for shipping and support to the country’s military forces.
MARAD has its roots in the old United States Maritime Commission. When the commission was discontinued in 1950, the responsibilities previously associated with that agency were divided between the United States Federal Maritime Board and the Maritime Administration. The Board was partially integrated into the newly formed Federal Maritime Commission, created in 1961. Eventually, all the various functions of the old United States Maritime Commission were once again regrouped under MARAD in 1981 and the agency was assigned to the Department of Marine Transportation of the United States.
In addition to maintaining a fleet of reserve vessels and providing support to the military, MARAD is also responsible for managing financial programs that help promote and develop the United States maritime service. One of the ways these duties are supported is through the sponsorship of educational opportunities at both the federal and state levels. MARAD oversees the only currently operating federal maritime academy in the United States, as well as the administration of financial aid programs that enable interested and qualified individuals to attend state-run maritime academies.
As part of the process of maintaining vessels that can be placed into service in emergency situations, MARAD has contracts with a number of US-based commercial shipowners. The contracts essentially allow MARAD the ability to place vessels into service in the event of a national emergency declaration. As of late 2007, this type of contractual arrangement provided MARAD with access to approximately sixty different cargo vessels that are owned and operated by US-based commercial shippers and are currently being used for commercial purposes.
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