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United States Government Accountability Office: 
GAO: 

Report to Congressional Committees: 

January 2014: 

U.S. Merchant Marine: 

Maritime Administration Should Assess Potential Mariner-Training Needs: 

GAO-14-212: 

GAO Highlights: 

Highlights of GAO-14-212, a report to congressional committees. 

Why GAO Did This Study: 

The U.S. merchant marine—the nation's domestic and oceangoing 
commercial ships and mariners—supports both U.S. commerce and national 
defense. MARAD, an agency within the Department of Transportation, is 
responsible for fostering, promoting, and developing the maritime 
industry; providing for the education and training of U.S. mariners; 
and studying all problems related to merchant-marine commerce and 
national-defense policies. Proper education and training of mariners 
is important to the success of the merchant marine. 

The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012 mandated that 
GAO review mariner training. This report examines (1) the availability 
of maritime training, (2) the availability of financial assistance for 
maritime training, and (3) MARAD's actions to ensure mariners meet 
commerce and defense needs and industry stakeholder views on those 
actions. GAO analyzed documents and interviewed officials from MARAD, 
the Coast Guard, the Department of Defense, maritime-training 
providers, unions, and companies. 

What GAO Found: 

Maritime training-—for domestic waterway and oceangoing operations-—is 
available through many public and private entities. These entities 
include the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), state maritime 
academies, community colleges, union-affiliated schools, and about 230 
private sector schools. Private companies also provide training to 
their mariner employees, including training to operate the vessels in 
their domestic and oceangoing fleets. 

A broad array of federal and non-federal financial assistance programs 
are available to help pay for maritime training. The Maritime 
Administration (MARAD) provides financial aid to academy students, GI 
Bill assistance is available to veterans, and the Department of 
Education provides loans and grants to college students. Maritime 
unions also provide assistance to their members, and maritime 
companies can provide assistance to their employees. Several industry 
stakeholders GAO interviewed stated that some prospective and current 
mariners could lack access to financial assistance. However, MARAD's 
responsibility towards paying for training mainly extends to students 
at the USMMA and at the state maritime academies who receive student 
incentive-payment-program funds. 

MARAD primarily supports the oceangoing maritime industry and its 
training needs. MARAD directly supports the oceangoing industry 
through subsidies for ships available for defense purposes and 
provides funding to the federal and state maritime academies. MARAD 
officials stated that they have not focused as much on the domestic 
commercial sector because they consider efforts to support military 
sealift requirements a higher priority for available budgetary 
resources. MARAD officials stated that they intend to conduct analyses 
of the domestic commercial maritime industry; however, the officials 
have not yet devoted the staff resources necessary to complete this 
effort and did not establish a time frame for completing this effort.
Some stakeholders GAO interviewed expressed concerns about MARAD's 
focus on the oceangoing sector, especially as the maritime industry 
has evolved to predominantly serve domestic waterways. For example, 
officials from three maritime academies expressed the need for more 
information to develop courses to meet domestic industry requirements, 
and several company stakeholders expressed similar concerns about the 
academies' lack of curriculums specifically tailored for the domestic 
sector. MARAD officials acknowledge that many mariners now prefer to 
work domestically and that this shift in preference, combined with the 
decline in the number of U.S. oceangoing ships, has resulted in fewer 
qualified mariners to meet U.S. oceangoing requirements. To address 
maritime industry issues, MARAD announced in September 2013 that it is 
developing a national maritime strategy. MARAD is also currently 
helping the Department of Transportation develop a national freight 
strategic plan, of which the maritime industry is a vital part. 
Studying potential training problems affecting the merchant marine's 
ability to carry out specified national commerce and defense 
objectives to ensure economic growth and sealift support in times of 
war could provide information to maritime stakeholders and help MARAD 
meet its responsibilities. 

What GAO Recommends: 

GAO recommends that MARAD study and identify potential problems in 
ensuring that U.S. mariners are adequately trained to meet the needs 
of the entire maritime industry. The Department of Transportation did 
not agree or disagree with the recommendation. 

View [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-14-212]. For more 
information, contact Lorelei St. James at (202) 512-2834 or 
StJamesL@gao.gov. 

[End of section] 

Contents: 

Letter: 

Background: 

Maritime Training Is Available through Many Public and Private 
Entities: 

Federal and Private Financial Assistance Is Available for Maritime 
Training, but Some Mariners Could Lack Access to Assistance: 

MARAD Primarily Supports the Needs of the Oceangoing Maritime 
Industry, Raising Concerns among Stakeholders about Training 
Implications for the Domestic Maritime Industry: 

Conclusions: 

Recommendation for Executive Action: 

Agency Comments: 

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology: 

Appendix II: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

Table: 

Table 1: Maritime Union-Affiliated Training Schools: 

Figures: 

Figure 1: Examples of Vessel Types: 

Figure 2: Roles Performed by U.S. Mariners: 

Figure 3: Areas of Operation for U.S. Mariners: 

Figure 4: Locations of Public and Private Maritime-Training Providers 
as of December 2012: 

Figure 5: Examples of Financial Assistance Available to Mariners for 
Training: 

Abbreviations: 

AMO: American Maritime Officers: 

BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics: 

CFR: Code of Federal Regulations: 

DOD: Department of Defense: 

DOT: Department of Transportation: 

GAO: Government Accountability Office: 

IMO: International Maritime Organization: 

IOMMP: International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots: 

Labor: Department of Labor: 

MAP-21: The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act of 2012: 

MARAD: Maritime Administration: 

MMC: Merchant Mariner Credential: 

MSC: Military Sealift Command: 

MSP: Maritime Security Program: 

NMC: National Maritime Center: 

Panel: The Panel on 21ST Century Freight Transportation: 

SIP: Student Incentive Payment: 

STCW: International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification 
and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended: 

TWIC: Transportation Worker Identification Card: 

USC: United States Code: 

USMMA: United States Merchant Marine Academy: 

VA: Department of Veterans Affairs: 

[End of section] 

United States Government Accountability Office: 
GAO:
441 G St. N.W. 
Washington, DC 20548: 

January 31, 2014: 

The Honorable John D. Rockefeller IV: 
Chairman: 
The Honorable John Thune: 
Ranking Member: 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation: 
United States Senate: 

The Honorable Bill Shuster: 
Chairman: 
The Honorable Nick J. Rahall, II: 
Ranking Member: 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure: 
House of Representatives: 

The U.S. merchant marine--the commercial ships of the United States 
and the mariners who operate them--contribute substantially to the 
U.S. economy. The maritime industry is a critical component of the 
U.S. freight transportation sector and contributes billions of dollars 
to the country's national output. The merchant marine is also 
important for supporting national defense by providing ships and 
mariners to the U.S. military in times of national emergency and war. 
Proper education and training of mariners is important to the success 
of the merchant marine.

The statutory mission of the Maritime Administration (MARAD), within 
the Department of Transportation (DOT), is to foster, promote, and 
develop the merchant maritime industry of the United States.[Footnote 
1] The Secretary of Transportation's general statutory authority 
relating to the U.S. merchant marine, delegated to MARAD, includes 
providing for the education and training of U.S. citizens for the safe 
and efficient operation of the U.S. merchant marine and ensuring that 
there is a sufficient pool of U.S. mariners to meet certain objectives 
relating to domestic and foreign commerce, national defense, and 
training, among other things.[Footnote 2] The commerce objectives 
state that the U.S. should have a merchant marine sufficient to carry 
both the U.S. waterborne domestic commerce and a substantial part of 
the waterborne export and import foreign commerce of the United 
States.[Footnote 3] The national defense objectives state that the 
U.S. merchant marine should be capable of serving as a naval and 
military auxiliary in time of war or national emergency.[Footnote 4] 
The training objectives provide, in part, that highly trained citizens 
of the United States should operate merchant marine vessels of the 
United States.[Footnote 5] MARAD has also been delegated the 
Secretary's statutory requirement to study all maritime problems 
arising in carrying out the merchant marine policies for commerce and 
national defense.[Footnote 6] The Coast Guard also plays a role in 
merchant marine training by regulating the training infrastructure; 
developing training standards; approving maritime schools, courses and 
instructors; and issuing credentials to mariners serving on merchant 
vessels of the United States.

The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012[Footnote 7] 
mandated that GAO review mariner training. This report addresses the 
following objectives: 

1. What is the availability of government (federal, state, and local) 
and private-sector entities that currently provide training to U.S. 
mariners?

2. What federal and non-federal financial assistance is available to 
mariners to help them meet training requirements?

3. What actions has MARAD taken to ensure there are trained mariners 
to meet commerce and national-defense needs, and what are the views of 
merchant marine stakeholders on these actions and on current and 
potential training issues?

To answer these objectives, we analyzed information about training 
requirements for U.S. mariners, including current regulations 
governing training for mariners working on both oceangoing and 
domestic commercial waterways. More specifically title 46 (Shipping) 
of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contains the Coast Guard's 
training- related requirements for both oceangoing and domestic 
waterways.[Footnote 8] Oceangoing regulations include the 
implementation of the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) 
International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and 
Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended (STCW). The Coast Guard 
published the final rule incorporating the IMO's 2010 amendments into 
its regulations on December 24, 2013.[Footnote 9] The rule was not 
published in time for our review.

We also reviewed information and data and interviewed officials from 
MARAD, the Coast Guard (part of the Department of Homeland Security), 
and the Military Sealift Command of the Department of Defense (DOD) 
about how training requirements are met and associated issues. We 
determined that the data were sufficiently reliable for our use. We 
used data for fiscal year 2012 from the Coast Guard on training 
providers and the number of course completions per year. We also used 
MARAD supplied data for fiscal years 2008-2012 on the number of 
academy graduates. For both data sets, we interviewed the responsible 
officials and discussed how they collect and process the data. We 
interviewed a range of knowledgeable stakeholders from a non-
probability sample of U.S. maritime industry stakeholders, including 5 
unions; 4 associations representing the maritime industry; and 21 
training providers (these included 6 maritime academies, 4 union-
affiliated schools, 5 maritime companies that provide training to 
their employees, and 4 for-profit and 2 non-profit training 
providers). We also interviewed 7 members of the Merchant Mariner 
Personnel Advisory Committee, which advises the Coast Guard on 
merchant marine personnel issues, such as training, qualifications, 
certification, and other issues. We selected these stakeholders 
because of their wide knowledge of, and roles in, multiple aspects of 
the maritime industry. We also conducted site visits to maritime 
industry facilities and training providers in the New York City and 
Houston, Texas, areas, which we selected based on the diversity and 
concentration of facilities and providers. The information from our 
site visits and interviews is illustrative and cannot be generalized 
to the maritime industry and training providers. We also analyzed 
information provided by the federal agencies and industry stakeholders 
covering the past 5 years.

We conducted this performance audit from March 2013 through January 
2014 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing 
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit 
to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable 
basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 
We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for 
our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. Appendix I 
contains a detailed description of our scope and methodology.

Background: 

The Merchant Marine Is a Vital Part of the U.S. Freight Network: 

The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), 
enacted in 2012, established, among other things, a policy framework 
to improve the condition and performance of the national freight 
network to ensure that it provides the foundation for the United 
States to compete in the global economy.[Footnote 10] MAP-21 directed 
DOT to develop a national freight network and a National Freight 
Strategic Plan. In October 2013, the House Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure published the results of a panel it had created to 
examine the current state of U.S. freight transportation and how 
improving freight transportation can strengthen the U.S. economy. 
[Footnote 11] The Panel on 21st Century Freight Transportation (the 
Panel) found that by optimizing the movement of freight across all 
modes of transportation, the freight industry helps ensure the health 
of the United States economy and the future of the nation's global 
competitiveness. The U.S. merchant marine plays a vital role in this 
network, and MARAD, the merchant marine's advocate in the federal 
government, is to assist DOT in developing the National Freight 
Strategic Plan. According to the Panel's report, over 75 percent of 
all U.S. international freight, by weight, moves by water. The inland 
waterways, moreover, transport more than 60 percent of U.S. grain 
exports, about 22 percent of domestic petroleum products, and 20 
percent of the coal used to generate electricity. On the other hand, 
according to DOT, the U.S.-flag[Footnote 12] fleet of 89 privately 
owned oceangoing vessels that are primarily or exclusively engaged in 
foreign trade now carries less than 2 percent of U.S. exports and 
imports. As a result, most U.S. international freight that moves by 
water is carried by foreign-flag vessels. To support the establishment 
of a national freight network and strategic plan, MAP-21 directs DOT 
to collect and analyze certain basic freight movement data, including 
freight moved through maritime ports of entry. Prior to the 
publication of the Panel's findings, MARAD announced in September 2013 
plans to create a national maritime strategy. According to MARAD, the 
national maritime strategy will address issues related to the number 
and quality of U.S.-flag ships engaged in commerce internationally and 
domestically and the number of qualified U.S. mariners, among other 
things.

The Merchant Marine Serves the Domestic and Oceangoing Commercial 
Needs of the Maritime Industry: 

The U.S. maritime industry is diverse. As shown in figure 1, U.S. 
vessels and mariners operate in the world's oceans and U.S. domestic 
waterways[Footnote 13] and include many vessel types and 
sizes.[Footnote 14] Large oceangoing vessels operate between U.S. and 
international ports, while smaller vessels operate in inland waters. 
Vessels can be specialized--such as ships for carrying petroleum, 
chemicals, and liquefied gases; tug and towboats for towing or pushing 
barges containing grain and other bulk goods; or ferries for moving 
people and vehicles.

Figure 1: Examples of Vessel Types: 

[Refer to PDF for image: 4 photographs] 

Container vessel (oceans and near coastal); 
Ferry boat (near coastal and inland waters); 
Drilling platform (near coastal); 
Barge (inland waters and western rivers). 

Sources: MARAD and GAO. 

[End of figure]

Almost all of the U.S.-flag vessels operate in domestic waterways. 
According to the most recently available information from DOT, of the 
38,700 privately owned U.S.-flag vessels available in 2011, 99.7 
percent were registered to operate in the domestic waterways. In 2013, 
there were 89 U.S.-flag oceangoing vessels primarily or exclusively 
operating in foreign trade.

The Merchant Marine Provides Oceangoing Vessels and Mariners for 
National Defense: 

As demonstrated in figure 2 below, U.S. mariners perform a variety of 
roles in the maritime industry. During times of war and national 
emergency, the U.S. merchant marine serves as an auxiliary, 
transporting goods or material needed by the armed forces. Sealift is 
the process of transporting Department of Defense (DOD)[Footnote 15] 
and other federal agency equipment and supplies required during 
peacetime and war. Throughout the history of the United States, the 
merchant marine has been used to transport troops and supplies, 
including more recently for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi 
Freedom. MARAD's Maritime Security Program (MSP) provides direct 
payment to companies for militarily useful U.S.-flag and U.S.-crewed 
oceangoing ships that are available upon DOD's request at times of war 
or national emergency. Vessel operators in this MARAD program receive 
this financial support to partially offset the higher operating costs 
of keeping these vessels under the U.S. flag and are also eligible to 
carry government preference cargoes.[Footnote 16] For fiscal year 
2013, according to MARAD, Congress appropriated $175 million to MARAD 
for the MSP providing participating vessels with $3.1 million per year 
to offset this higher operating cost. In addition, cargo preference, 
which is designed to support a U.S.-flag commercial fleet for national 
defense purposes, generally requires that 100 percent of DOD cargoes, 
to the extent rates are not excessive or unreasonable, and 50 percent 
of the gross tonnage of all other government-generated cargo be 
transported on privately owned U.S.-flag vessels "to the extent those 
vessels are available at fair and reasonable rates for commercial 
vessels of the United States."[Footnote 17]

Figure 2: Roles Performed by U.S. Mariners: 

[Refer to PDF for image: illustration] 

Roles performed by U.S. mariners: 

Commerce: 

Domestic: 
Operate in western rivers, inland waters, and Great Lakes. 

Oceangoing: 
Operate in oceans and near coastal. 

National defense: 
Mariners sailing aboard the oceangoing U.S. fleet are the main source 
of mariners for national defense needs. Many would be available to 
crew government-owned sealift vessels in times of war or national 
emergency. 

Source: GAO analysis of federal regulations and MARAD information. 

[End of figure]

Complete, detailed data on active mariners is not available. Maritime 
industry stakeholders and federal agencies collect different types of 
data on U.S. mariners primarily related to their own segment of the 
industry or for different purposes. According to MARAD, some data, 
such as the number of mariners who work for maritime companies or the 
number of mariners who belong to unions, are considered business 
proprietary, and these organizations are reluctant to share these 
numbers with each other or the public. Other potential data--such as 
the number of mariners working in the domestic waterways, the number 
of non-union mariners, or the number of mariners who are not permanent 
employees of companies--are not currently widely collected. Similarly, 
government agencies closely related to the maritime industry currently 
do not track the entire maritime workforce, but focus on individual 
aspects of it. For example, according to Coast Guard officials, their 
data system tracks the number of credentials; however, mariners may 
hold more than one credential or they may not be active. MARAD relies 
on Coast Guard data to assess the number of mariners in the industry 
who would be qualified to work on oceangoing sealift vessels and has 
recently completed a study with the maritime unions assessing the 
number of mariners who are actively sailing on oceangoing vessels. At 
this time, however, MARAD's analysis does not extend to mariners 
sailing in other parts of the industry. According to the Bureau of 
Labor Statistics' (BLS) occupational outlook, which is based on 
industry and household reporting, nearly 80,000 people were reported 
to be in water transportation occupations in 2010. While a majority of 
these workers were employed by companies working in the oceangoing or 
inland water transportation industry, some also worked in other 
venues, such as federal, state or local governments, educational 
establishments, or other activities.

Training Requirements for U.S. Mariners: 

Training requirements for U.S. mariners vary depending on 
circumstances, such as the mariner's role on the vessel, the area of 
operation, and the size of the vessel, but they are primarily subject 
to three types of training requirements: 

* training pursuant to regulations for commercial operations in both 
oceangoing and domestic waterways,[Footnote 18]

* military-specific training requirements for civilian mariners who 
sail aboard government-owned vessels or vessels on charter to DOD, and: 

* maritime company-specific training requirements.

Training requirements vary based on the areas of operation indicated 
in figure 3 below. Under Coast Guard regulations, in general, 
oceangoing mariners must also hold an STCW endorsement certifying 
compliance with the international STCW requirements, which the Coast 
Guard has incorporated into federal maritime regulations.[Footnote 19] 
The STCW provides, among other things, an international training 
standard for mariners on vessels sailing on oceangoing waterways. 
Under Coast Guard regulations, mariners can meet such training 
requirements through a combination of experience or training with 
evaluation through professional examination and a practical 
demonstration of skills. According to the IMO, the 1978 STCW 
Convention was the first to establish basic minimum requirements on 
training, certification, and watchkeeping (a watchkeeper is someone 
who stands watch over the deck or engine) for seafarers on an 
international level. Previously, these requirements were established 
by individual governments, which resulted in wide variations in 
standards and procedures, according to IMO.

Figure 3: Areas of Operation for U.S. Mariners: 

[Refer to PDF for image: illustrated U.S. map] 

Depicted on map: 

Domestic waterways: 
* Western rivers (includes the Mississippi River, its tributaries, 
South Pass, Southwest Pass, and other specified waterways and rivers); 
* Inland waters (navigable waters shoreward of the boundary lines as 
described in 46 C.F.R. Part 7 with certain exclusions such as the 
Great Lakes); 
* Great Lakes. 

Oceangoing waterways: 
* Oceans (waters seaward of the boundary lines described in 46 C.F.R. 
part 7); 
* Near coastal (ocean waters not more than 200 miles offshore). 

Source: GAO, Coast Guard, and Map Resources. 

[End of figure]

Under Coast Guard regulations, before prospective mariners can become 
an oceangoing or domestic waterways qualified mariner, they first must 
apply for and receive a Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC).[Footnote 
20] To apply for an MMC, the prospective mariner must either hold or 
apply for a Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC), and pass 
a criminal record review, a drug test, and a physical examination. 
[Footnote 21] Coast Guard-training-related requirements for mariners 
vary according to their position and type of vessel on which they 
serve. Officers are in charge of the vessel and serve in management 
and leadership roles on the vessel; non-officer mariners serve under 
the command and supervision of the officers. Coast Guard- training-
related requirements are divided based on whether mariners serve as 
officers or non-officers and whether they want to serve in the deck 
department (steering and guiding the vessel) or the engine department 
(watching over and maintaining the engines).[Footnote 22] Certain 
types of vessels such as passenger vessels, tankers, and towing 
vessels, require additional training.[Footnote 23]

Mariners sailing onboard Military Sealift Command (MSC) vessels and 
other vessels that may come under MSC operational control, such as the 
MARAD Ready Reserve Force vessels, are required to take specific DOD- 
approved training to match the types of vessels, cargo, mission 
requirements, and areas of operation according to MARAD. The 
specialized training includes such topics as physical security, 
antiterrorism, ship survivability, Navy communication systems, naval 
operations, engineering, and logistics. This training is typically 
provided by Navy trainers, as well as by union and private trainers. 
Some maritime companies might also require additional training for 
their mariner employees, including how to operate a specific type of 
engine.

Depending on where they decide to work and in what capacity, mariners 
then pursue the necessary Coast Guard endorsements. An endorsement is 
a statement of a mariner's qualifications, which may include the 
categories of officer, non-officer (referred to as a rating 
endorsement), and other special endorsements, such as those relating 
to the operation of specific types of vessels. Endorsements are 
affixed to an MMC much like a visa stamp on a passport. All 
endorsements for officer level mariners require varying amounts of 
training, sea time, examination, and demonstration of proficiency. 
[Footnote 24] In general, both oceangoing and domestic endorsements 
allow the mariner to work on any vessel or engine equal in size or 
smaller than the endorsement they have.

To secure Coast Guard endorsements, mariners must take Coast Guard- 
approved training commensurate with their desired position on a 
vessel.[Footnote 25] The Coast Guard's National Maritime Center (NMC) 
approves all training courses, programs of training, and training 
providers. These approvals also include the professional development 
program curriculum that leads to the issuance of a professional 
credential at the six state maritime academies and the United States 
Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA).

The expected compensation among mariners also varies widely. For 
example, according to BLS data, the median annual wage of mariners in 
2010 was about $46,600, with the lowest 10 percent earning less than 
$24,890 and the top 10 percent earning over $99,690. According to BLS, 
the median wages in 2010 for ship engineers and for captains, mates, 
and pilots were about $66,000 and $64,000, respectively. These median 
wages are estimated based on the wages for all mariners, including 
those working on oceangoing vessels as well as those working in 
domestic areas such as the Great Lakes and the inland waterways.

Maritime Training Is Available through Many Public and Private 
Entities: 

MARAD's responsibilities include providing for the education and 
training of U.S. citizens for the safe and efficient operation of the 
U.S. merchant marine.[Footnote 26] MARAD funds and operates the U.S. 
Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), and it also provides direct support 
to the six state maritime academies to include training vessels. 
Community colleges and union-supported schools also provide training, 
as do private companies and non-profit organizations.

MARAD Funds and Operates the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and Provides 
Partial Financial and Curriculum Support to the Six State Academies: 

MARAD oversees the USMMA, designs its training curriculum, and 
approves parts of the curriculum and courses at the six state maritime 
academies.[Footnote 27] (figure 4 on p. 18 shows the locations of the 
seven academies.) For fiscal year 2013, Congress appropriated $85.7 
million to MARAD for the USMMA and $17.2 million for the state 
academies, according to MARAD. The USMMA provides undergraduate 
education programs for students seeking to become officers in the U.S. 
merchant marine. The eligibility, scholastic, and physical 
requirements for prospective mariners are established in federal 
regulations.[Footnote 28] Likewise, the six state academies operate as 
federally supported maritime academies and are subject to federal 
regulations.[Footnote 29] These academies all offer a maritime-
officer- training program similar to that offered at the USMMA. Aside 
from maritime-officer-training programs, some offer separate 
undergraduate and graduate degrees along with professional mariner 
training. According to USMMA officials, the USMMA's coursework mainly 
focuses on oceangoing training, although the academy has started to 
focus more on domestic waterways training. According to USMMA 
officials, the academy offers some courses as electives that focus on 
skills useful for operating vessels in domestic waterways, 
particularly for towing. Similarly, officials of four state academies 
also told us that required coursework is focused on oceangoing 
maritime training, but that each academy may also offer elective 
training courses focused on domestic areas of operation including 
training specifically for tug and tow barges.

After successfully completing the 4-year course of study, USMMA 
graduates and state maritime academy graduates enrolled in the officer 
program receive a Bachelor's degree and a Coast Guard credential with 
a license[Footnote 30] endorsement as an unlimited tonnage, oceans 
third mate (lowest level deck officer) or an unlimited horsepower, 
oceans third assistant engineer (lowest level engineering officer). 
According to MARAD data, graduation at the USMMA and the six state 
maritime academies has increased from 727 mariners graduating with 
oceangoing endorsements in 2007 to 854 mariners graduating in 2012 
with oceangoing endorsements.

Fourteen Community Colleges Also Provide Maritime Training: 

According to NMC data, in 2012, 14 community colleges across the 
United States provided varying levels of Coast Guard-approved maritime 
training to both oceangoing and domestic mariners through either an 
individual course or entire programs of study. (figure 4 shows the 14 
locations of the community colleges.) Mariners taking community 
college courses can earn credit toward a new endorsement or gain 
maritime- related skills. For example, according to NMC data, Carteret 
Community College in North Carolina offers individual courses and has 
trained approximately 40 students from 2010-2012. San Jacinto 
Community College Maritime in Texas, started in 2010, offers entire 
programs of study that can lead to associate degrees in maritime 
technology as well as individual Coast Guard-approved mariner courses. 
According to the director of the maritime college, since 2010, San 
Jacinto Maritime has issued approximately 1,800 to 1,900 maritime-
training certificates and is creating a new maritime-training facility 
to enable it to offer better mariner training, including simulation.

Union-Affiliated Schools Primarily Provide Training to Oceangoing U.S. 
Mariners: 

Five major union-affiliated schools provide training to union members, 
as well as some non-members. (figure 4 on p.18 shows the locations of 
the union-affiliated schools.) The unions with which these schools are 
affiliated primarily represent oceangoing mariners.[Footnote 31] 
According to the unions, they have collective-bargaining agreements 
with companies that specify the terms and conditions for providing 
training to members, including entry-level training, endorsement 
maintenance training, and in some cases advancement training. An 
agreement may specify, for example, that for every day a union member 
is onboard a company vessel, the company contributes a certain amount 
to the union training fund.

Table 1: Maritime Union-Affiliated Training Schools: 

Maritime union: Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (MEBA); 
Training school: Calhoon MEBA Engineering School; 
Location: Easton, Maryland.

Maritime union: Sailors' Union of the Pacific; 
Training school: Andrew Furuseth School of Seamanship; 
Location: San Francisco, California.

Maritime union: Seafarers International Union; 
Training school: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education; 
Location: Piney Point, Maryland.

Maritime union: American Maritime Officers; 
Training school: Raymond T. McKay Simulation, Training, Assessment & 
Research (STAR) Center; 
Location: Dania Beach, Florida.

Maritime union: International Organization of; 
Masters, Mates and Pilots; 
Training school: Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies 
and the Pacific Maritime Institute; 
Location: Linthicum Heights, Maryland, and Seattle, Washington.

Source: GAO Analysis of MARAD Data. 

[End of table] 

Training at union-affiliated schools varies, but most have simulators 
and other specialized facilities in addition to classrooms, and offer 
Coast Guard and non-Coast Guard approved training. For example, the 
Calhoon School has engine simulators, a vessel bridge simulator, and 
machine shops for providing hands-on training to maritime engineers. 
The Paul Hall Center provides both career-entry basic maritime 
training to students with no maritime experience and professional 
advancement training for experienced mariners, and has engine and deck 
simulators, among other training aids. According to American Maritime 
Officers (AMO) officials, at the STAR Center (Simulation, Training, 
Assessment and Research), mariners have access to more than 400 
maritime-training courses as well as customized courses as requested 
by companies.

According to union officials, aside from their training efforts for 
current members, two unions--AMO and International Organization of 
Masters, Mates and Pilots (IOMMP)--have entry-level mariner-training 
programs to produce officers. Officials told us that both programs are 
designed to offer high school graduates the opportunity to gain 
training and sea-service experience similar to that offered by the 
maritime academies but without a college degree. Both programs, 
according to union officials, are intended to produce oceangoing third 
mates (lowest level deck officers), will involve approximately 30 
total mariners, and are expected to take approximately 2 to 2-1/2 
years to complete.

Some maritime unions reported that they also provide training to non- 
union members on a case-by-case basis, particularly training that 
satisfies military requirements as mandated by the Military Sealift 
Command. For example, officials from the Seafarers International Union 
and AMO told us that they provide courses of study at their schools 
including helicopter firefighting, weapons training, and courses on 
chemical and biological hazards that meet military sealift requirements.

Oceangoing and Domestic Maritime Companies Offer Mariner Training: 

Companies across multiple sectors of the maritime industry, from an 
oceangoing carrier to an oilfield driller to a domestic waterways 
operator, offer and require specific training courses for their 
mariners. For example, representatives from an oceangoing-carrier 
company with vessels sailing under both U.S. and international flags 
told us that they require and provide training beyond that which a 
mariner brings to the job. The representatives further stated that the 
company might supplement union training with manufacturer-specific 
training that allows the mariners to get safety and quality 
certification for engines used on the company's vessels.

Likewise, representatives from a large operator of domestic waterways' 
inland and coastal tank barges that transport chemicals told us that 
their company has a training center in Texas, which is equipped with a 
training vessel and a full radar-equipped towboat wheelhouse 
simulator. According to a company representative, the company invested 
$11 million in the training center in 2011.

Private Maritime-Training Providers Train Oceangoing and Domestic 
Mariners: 

About 230 private maritime-training providers gave Coast Guard-
approved training to varying numbers of mariners across the country in 
2012, according to Coast Guard NMC data. (figure 4 on p.18 shows the 
locations of the private schools.) This training can range from safety 
training to management training to vessel operations. The schools 
range greatly in size. For example, one school we visited is a large 
non-academy training provider with two locations in Kentucky and 
Texas. According to school officials, this provider trains about 1,000 
to 1,200 students per year. Moreover, according to officials, at both 
locations, the provider primarily trains domestic waterways mariners 
and offers simulator, hands-on, and classroom training. Courses range 
from 2 days to 2 weeks. Another school we visited offers 18 Coast 
Guard approved courses to about 50 to 60 mariners a year seeking to 
work on tugs and towboats.

Figure 4: Locations of Public and Private Maritime-Training Providers 
as of December 2012: 

[Refer to PDF for image: illustrated U.S. map] 

Location of the following are depicted on the map: 
Maritime academies; 
Union schools; 
Community colleges; 
Other Coast Guard-approved training providers. 

Sources: DOT and Map Resources. 

[End of figure]

Federal and Private Financial Assistance Is Available for Maritime 
Training, but Some Mariners Could Lack Access to Assistance: 

Maritime-Training Costs Vary: 

The costs associated with required maritime training--whether borne by 
the mariners or by entities such as federal agencies--vary greatly 
depending on the type of training and the training provider. Training 
costs vary greatly both for the initial training that prospective 
mariners take before entering the workforce and for any ongoing 
training that current mariners take after entering the workforce. For 
example, several stakeholders estimated that Coast Guard-required 
entry-level mariner training--including basic safety training and 
other up-front costs for required physical exams and drug tests--range 
from about $1,500 to $3,000. In another example, a large private-
training provider told us that one week of training--mostly designed 
for current mariners seeking to advance their careers or keep up with 
training requirements--costs about $1,300 per mariner per week. 
According to GAO analysis, for prospective mariners enrolled in their 
first year at state maritime academies, tuition, fees, and room and 
board costs for an in-state mariner can be as high as $29,000 or as 
low as $19,000 per year, depending on the academy. Finally, one union 
stakeholder estimated that it would cost about $30,000 for an entry-
level mariner to get training through a private-training provider 
equivalent to that gained through one of the maritime academies.

Available Federal Assistance: 

MARAD provides each USMMA student with free tuition, room and board, 
uniforms, and books, in exchange for the student's obligation to serve 
for at least 5 years after graduation either in the maritime industry 
or on active duty in an armed or uniformed service of the United 
States. USMMA graduates must also meet other obligations, including 
(1) maintaining a U.S. Coast Guard officer license for at least 6 
years after graduation; (2) accepting an appointment as a commissioned 
officer in any reserve unit of the U.S. armed forces and maintaining 
that commission for at least 6 years after graduation; and (3) 
submitting to MARAD documentation verifying compliance with these 
obligations annually until service obligation requirements have been 
met. Students attending the six state maritime academies also have 
access to financial assistance through MARAD. State academy students 
can apply for MARAD's Student Incentive Payment (SIP) program, a 
competitive, voluntary program that provides up to $8,000 per year to 
participating students that can be used to defray the costs of 
tuition, uniforms, books, and subsistence. In return, SIP recipients 
have the same obligations cited above for USMMA graduates with the 
exception of the obligation to serve in the maritime industry or on 
active duty within an armed or uniformed service of the United States. 
The service obligation for SIP students is 3 years instead of the 5 
years of service required for USMMA graduates. MARAD estimates that 
the SIP program helps support the enrollment of about 75 new students 
each year at the six state academies collectively. Of the 
approximately 650 students that MARAD estimates will graduate from the 
state academies during the 2013 academic year, about 75 graduates, or 
11 percent, received SIP funding.

In addition, both USMMA and state academy students may also be 
eligible for financial aid through Department of Education grants and 
loans. For example, according to USMMA, students may wish to obtain 
additional assistance to pay for educational supplies and fees not 
covered by MARAD.[Footnote 32] Similarly, officials from the 
Massachusetts Maritime Academy and from State University of New York 
Maritime Academy told us that about 80 percent of their students, 
respectively, use Department of Education loans to help pay for their 
schooling.

Prospective mariners pursuing oceangoing and domestic careers who are 
enrolled in maritime programs at other state and local colleges may be 
eligible for Department of Education grants and loans through their 
institutions. Generally, to qualify for Department of Education 
financial aid, students must have financial need and be enrolled at 
least part time in a college that has been certified by the Department 
of Education to participate in the federal student aid program. Thus, 
generally only those prospective mariners in an eligible training 
program at colleges eligible to participate in the federal student aid 
program would have access to Department of Education grants and loans.

Prospective mariners who are veterans may be eligible for financial 
assistance to fund maritime training through Department of Veterans 
Affairs (VA) education programs, but only if the training provider has 
been approved to accept VA education assistance funds. VA assistance 
is primarily provided through the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational 
Assistance Act of 2008 (Post-9/11 GI Bill), as amended.[Footnote 33] 
That assistance can be used for programs of study at 4-year colleges 
and universities, as well as for non-college degree programs and trade 
schools, and for apprenticeships and on-the-job training.[Footnote 34] 
However, all schools and training providers must be approved by VA to 
accept Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits. Several officials we spoke with at 
maritime-training facilities told us that their facilities did not use 
VA funds to pay for training. For example, the director of San Jacinto 
Maritime told us that mariners in training at his facility cannot use 
VA funds to pay for their training because the facility has not found 
it economically feasible to apply for GI-Bill status with the VA. In 
another example, an official at a large training facility in Kentucky 
told us that no mariners in training at his facility used VA programs 
to fund training.

Finally, several stakeholders told us that some states use training 
programs sponsored by the Department of Labor (Labor) to help fund 
maritime training.[Footnote 35] The stakeholders indicated that these 
funds are usually allocated by state workforce agencies to maritime 
companies and local training providers, but some of these funds also 
could be directly accessible to eligible mariners seeking training. 
[Footnote 36] For example, the Texas Workforce Commission has a Skills 
Development Fund grant program that funds training to meet specific 
training needs identified by Texas-based employers and trade unions. 
This grant program is a collaborative effort between Texas- based 
employers or trade unions and public community colleges or technical 
colleges. A grant through this program helped establish the local 
maritime-training program at the San Jacinto Community College in 
Texas. According to the program's website, since 2010, the program and 
16 partnering maritime companies had received about $1 million in 
funding for U.S. Coast Guard-and STCW-approved mariner training. 
According to the director of this program, the grant helps offset 
training costs for Texas-based maritime companies. Prospective 
mariners may also be eligible for direct access to Labor assistance 
funds for training, assuming that they meet any required financial 
need and any other requirements.

Assistance May Be Available for Union Members and Company Employees: 

Mariners who are members of a union may also have access to training 
that is paid through their unions.[Footnote 37] For example, two union 
leaders told us that union members would receive assistance to attend 
training at a specific training provider and also would have other 
training-related costs paid by the union, such as room and board. 
However, most maritime unions represent primarily oceangoing mariners, 
who make up a small portion of the overall mariner workforce. 
Consequently, many current mariners working in the domestic waterways 
are not members of unions and therefore lack access to paid union 
training.

Some maritime companies in both domestic and oceangoing transportation 
provide employee training in-house or pay employees to attend off-site 
training courses. For example, representatives from a large offshore 
company told us that their company spends about $100 million per year 
for in-house training for all of its mariners, including initial new- 
hire training and periodic subsequent training. Similarly, 
representatives from a large inland-towing company predominately 
operating in the rivers and coastal areas told us that the company 
pays for workers' initial training and all subsequent training, 
including any travel costs from the mariners' duty station to the 
training site. In addition, representatives of a large oceangoing 
company told us that their company pays for initial and subsequent 
training at a specific union school as well as training-related 
travel, lodging, and meal costs.

Selected Stakeholders Reported That Some Mariners Could Lack Access to 
Financial Assistance: 

Fourteen industry stakeholders we interviewed--including 
representatives from two maritime academies, six non-academy training 
providers, four unions and associations, and two other industry 
representatives--expressed concerns about the lack of financial 
assistance for some mariners. For example, a representative of a non- 
academy training facility and another stakeholder stated that only 
prospective mariners attending the USMMA and the state maritime 
academies have sufficient access to financial assistance. In another 
example, a representative of a non-academy training provider stated 
that most of the maritime schools that cater to unlicensed mariners 
are too small to be accredited by the Department of Education and that 
therefore, their students would not have access to federal student 
loan programs. Also, a private sector school stated that none of its 
students used federal programs and all paid out of pocket for the 
training costs. Some types of prospective and current mariners could 
lack access to the financial assistance listed in figure 5 because 
they do not meet the eligibility conditions for federal or private 
financial assistance. For example, a recent high school graduate 
seeking an entry-level maritime position would likely not have access 
to assistance to pay for any training required before applying for the 
specific position. In another example, a current non-union mariner 
working for a company that does not pay for training would likely not 
have access to financial assistance to pay for any continuing training 
courses needed to keep up with training requirements. Finally, a 
mariner who is a military veteran and attending a non-college maritime 
program that has not been approved to accept VA funds or Department of 
Education financial aid funds would likely not have access to federal 
financial assistance. However, MARAD's responsibility towards paying 
for training mainly extends to students at the USMMA and the students 
at the state maritime academies who receive student incentive-payment 
program funds.

Figure 5: Examples of Financial Assistance Available to Mariners for 
Training: 

[Refer to PDF for image: illustrated table] 

Mariners with access to source: 
Prospective mariners: USMMA students; 
Assistance source: 
Federal[A]: 
MARAD: [Check]; 
Department of Education: [Check]; 
Veterans Affairs: [Empty]; 
Private: 
Companies: [Empty]; 
Unions: [Empty]. 

Mariners with access to source: 
Prospective mariners: State maritime academy students; 
Assistance source: 
Federal[A]: 
MARAD: [Check] (limited access); 
Department of Education: [Check]; 
Veterans Affairs: [Empty]; 
Private: 
Companies: [Empty]; 
Unions: [Empty]. 

Mariners with access to source: 
Prospective mariners: Students at other state and local colleges; 
Assistance source: 
Federal[A]: 
MARAD: 
Department of Education: [Check]; Must attend Education-approved 
program; 
Veterans Affairs: [Empty]; 
Private: 
Companies: [Empty]; 
Unions: [Empty]. 

Mariners with access to source: 
Prospective mariners: Veterans; 
Assistance source: 
Federal[A]: 
MARAD: [Empty]; 
Department of Education: [Check]; Must attend Education-approved 
program; 
Veterans Affairs: [Check]; Must attend VA-approved program; 
Private: 
Companies: [Empty]; 
Unions: [Empty]. 

Mariners with access to source: 
Current mariners[B]: 
Assistance source: 
Federal[A]: 
MARAD: [Empty]; 
Department of Education: [Empty]; 
Veterans Affairs: [Empty]; 
Private: 
Companies: [Check]; Must work for company that pays for training; 
Unions: [Check]; Must be a member of a union that pays for training. 

Source: GAO. 

[A] Prospective and current mariners may also have access to 
Department of Labor training programs. As we reported in GAO-11-92, 
Department of Labor programs are a major source of funding for 
federally funded employment and training programs. Mariners seeking 
training could directly access such funds if they meet individual 
eligibility requirements.

[B] Current mariners refers to mariners who have already entered the 
maritime workforce. This could include veterans and those in training 
at state and local colleges. 

[End of figure] 

MARAD Primarily Supports the Needs of the Oceangoing Maritime 
Industry, Raising Concerns among Stakeholders about Training 
Implications for the Domestic Maritime Industry: 

Maritime Industry Has Shifted from Oceangoing to Domestic Sectors, but 
U.S. Policy Encompasses Support for Both: 

The oceangoing sector of the U.S. maritime industry has declined over 
the past decades while the overall domestic sector has been holding 
steady in recent years and some domestic sectors have grown. Although 
many factors influence the commercial oceangoing industry, we have 
previously reported that the costs of building vessels in the United 
States and operating vessels under the U.S. flag are significantly 
higher than in other countries.[Footnote 38] In contrast, according to 
MARAD, the domestic sector has either held steady or seen growth in 
economic activity and investment over the past decade, especially in 
the offshore oil and drilling area and the inland and coastal 
transportation area.[Footnote 39] MARAD officials stated that the 
recent growth in domestic commerce was a result of the increase in off-
shore oil and gas support vessel activities.

MARAD Primarily Supports the Training Needs of the Oceangoing Maritime 
Industry: 

Although MARAD has been delegated DOT's statutory requirement to study 
all maritime problems arising in carrying out the merchant marine 
policies for commerce and national defense,[Footnote 40] MARAD's 
programs and activities primarily focus on supporting the oceangoing 
sector of the maritime industry, which supports its national defense 
objectives. MARAD's support for the oceangoing sector includes 
providing mariner training and collecting and analyzing industry data 
to determine potential problems.[Footnote 41] MARAD's programs and 
activities, however, have not focused as much on collecting and 
analyzing industry data to determine potential problems in the 
domestic sector of the maritime industry. For example, MARAD assessed 
mariner training to meet sealift requirements in 2004[Footnote 42] and 
has recently completed a study with maritime unions to determine the 
availability of mariners to crew the sealift vessels if they are 
activated. Officials stated they intend to continue to track this 
number and have been collecting these data since 2007. Recent interest 
about this issue arose during a congressional hearing in May 2013 
[Footnote 43] highlighting that DOD and a large maritime labor union 
representing mariners in all sectors of the industry disagreed on the 
number of mariners available for sealift. MARAD officials told us that 
MARAD has limited budget resources and has prioritized its efforts to 
oceangoing mariners and national defense objectives.[Footnote 44]

According to MARAD officials, while MARAD has not studied the domestic 
sector of the industry as it has the oceangoing sector, the academies 
directly support training for domestic and inland waterway commerce. 
The officials stated that while the maritime academies graduate 
mariners who are qualified to sail on oceangoing vessels, these 
qualifications also allow them to sail aboard vessels in other sectors 
of the industry, although additional endorsements may be necessary. 
The officials acknowledged that the increase in domestic requirements 
could, over time, lessen the applicability of oceangoing training that 
the academies provide to meet the training requirements of the 
domestic sector. However, they noted that there did not appear to be a 
lack of training providers for the domestic sector.

In addition, officials told us that they intend to collect data on the 
number of commercial mariners in different domestic maritime sectors, 
and their credentials and endorsements. The officials also told us 
that this effort could be similar to the study they conducted with the 
maritime unions on the oceangoing workforce and could compare the 
number of commercial vessels with the number of mariners who hold the 
appropriate credentials and endorsements to work on those vessels. 
However, the officials stated that MARAD has not yet developed a plan 
to conduct this study that includes both the necessary staff resources 
and an established time frame to complete the effort. Without a plan 
to conduct this study that includes both staff resources and time 
frames, it is unclear if MARAD will complete this effort.

Selected Stakeholders Raised Concerns about MARAD's Continued Focus on 
the Training Needs of the Oceangoing Maritime Industry: 

Some stakeholders expressed concerns about MARAD's continued focus on 
the training and other needs of the oceangoing sector and about the 
need for more information from MARAD on the maritime industry overall. 
Some stakeholders we interviewed--including representatives from three 
non-academy training providers and two companies--told us that MARAD 
seemed overly focused on supporting the needs of the oceangoing- 
maritime industry and had not acknowledged the current and future 
growth and needs of the domestic maritime industry. Some of these and 
other stakeholders stated they felt it was important for MARAD to 
collect data and conduct studies in order to help better understand, 
promote, and support the entire commercial industry, both the 
oceangoing and domestic sectors. These stakeholders included 
representatives of three academies, a non-academy provider, and a 
union. The union stakeholder stated that it was important to know 
about workforce trends, and that the industry could use more 
standardized sets of data. For example, one maritime academy stated 
that it could update training curriculums that will meet changing 
workforce needs if it had more industry survey data from MARAD.

Three of the maritime academies, whose funding from MARAD primarily 
focuses on producing oceangoing officers and on supporting national 
defense sealift, expressed the need for more information to better 
meet the requirements of the domestic industry, particularly in the 
offshore and near coastal areas, for example: 

* One academy stakeholder stated that more information from MARAD and 
studies on qualified mariners would help the academy make planning and 
resource decisions. Without this information, the school sometimes 
makes decisions simply based upon what other schools are doing.

* Two academy stakeholders said that such studies could help focus and 
update their respective academies' curriculums.

* One academy started offering domestic waterways training as an 
elective and is planning to acquire a tug and barge simulator. 
According to this academy stakeholder, though, this academy makes 
these curriculum decisions based on anecdotal information from 
industry, other schools' practices, and some government data, and 
noted that more industry information from MARAD was important to the 
stakeholder to help make better planning and resource decisions.

* One academy stakeholder noted that this academy would like to 
increase its size, mostly in response to current growth in the 
offshore areas, but that more guidance would be helpful as the academy 
adapts to industry changes.

Several company stakeholders also expressed concerns about the 
academies' lack of sufficient curriculums specifically tailored for 
the domestic sector. For example, officials at one domestic maritime 
company that we spoke to noted that it required recent academy 
graduates to take 13 months of required training and on-the-job 
experience. In another example, officials from an offshore company 
told us that they did not think the academies have sufficient 
curriculums specifically focused on offshore operations.

According to MARAD officials, there has been an increase in 
specialized training necessary to work on specific types of vessels 
for both the domestic and oceangoing sectors of the industry. The 
officials stated that 20 years ago mariners could graduate from an 
academy with credentials that allowed them to work on any type of 
vessel. Since that time, specialization has led to more training 
requirements. According to MARAD, tankers, passenger vessels, towing 
vessels, and dynamic- positioning vessels all require specialized 
training. The officials noted that it is increasingly difficult, if 
not impossible, for a 4- year maritime academy to provide all of the 
courses for an undergraduate degree and all of the necessary training 
and sea time for a mariner to have the qualifications to sail aboard 
all vessels.

As discussed earlier, MARAD has a broad mission to support both the 
domestic and oceangoing waterways, including providing overall 
direction for the training of U.S. mariners in both sectors. For MARAD 
to meet its statutory responsibilities, including those delegated by 
the Secretary of Transportation to MARAD, it is important that it 
study all problems arising in the merchant marine's ability to carry 
out specified national commerce and defense objectives to ensure both 
economic growth and sealift support in times of war. As industry 
stakeholders have noted, lack of sufficient information, including on 
mariner-training needs in the domestic sector, could have adverse 
effects for the domestic sector of the maritime industry.

MARAD Strategic Efforts Could Provide Opportunities to Identify and 
Study Training Issues: 

DOT has raised concerns about the number of U.S. oceangoing mariners. 
The primary source of mariners to crew government reserve sealift 
ships is the pool of U.S. mariners actively sailing in the U.S.-flag 
shipping industry. According to MARAD officials, the sufficiency 
(availability, commitment, and skills) of this mariner pool to support 
a large-scale activation of the government reserve sealift fleet (60 
ships) depends upon the health and size of the commercial U.S.-flag 
merchant fleet. The DOT Deputy Secretary testified in May 2013 that 
while the pool of U.S. oceangoing mariners is adequate to meet current 
sealift needs, DOT was concerned that the costs of operating under the 
U.S.-flag registry may result in continued reductions in the 
oceangoing commercial fleet.[Footnote 45] In addition, MARAD officials 
acknowledged that many mariners now prefer to work domestically, 
including on the outer continental shelf, which is a growing sector of 
the industry that is required to hire U.S. citizens. This shift in 
preference could lessen the number of qualified oceangoing mariners. 
The officials also acknowledged that the decline in the number of U.S.-
flag ships has resulted in fewer qualified U.S. mariners for DOD 
sealift.

To help address these issues, MARAD announced in September 2013 that 
it is developing a national maritime strategy, to include ways to 
address the decline in U.S.-flag oceangoing vessels, shipbuilding, and 
other ways to support the maritime industry.[Footnote 46] MARAD 
officials told us that they have set a preliminary 30-year goal to 
significantly increase the participation of U.S.-flag oceangoing 
vessels in international shipping. The share of imports and exports 
carried by the existing 89 U.S.-flag foreign-trading vessels is 
approximately 2 percent by weight of cargo; doubling the share of 
oceanborne exports and imports carried by U.S.-flag vessels to 4 
percent could employ approximately double this number of vessels. 
Reaching a 10-percent share could employ 300 to 500 vessels, depending 
on future trade growth, vessel types, and vessel-size trends. As part 
of the process to develop this strategy, MARAD convened a series of 
roundtables in January 2014 with maritime stakeholders to generate 
ideas for improving, strengthening, and sustaining cargo opportunities 
and sealift capacity within the U.S. marine transportation system. 
Among the areas MARAD discussed with stakeholders was the number of 
qualified U.S.-citizen mariners and U.S-flag ships, training and 
retention of the maritime workforce, and steps to revitalize the U.S. 
shipbuilding industry. The officials stated further that they will 
refine the 30- year target numbers for the U.S.-flag international 
oceangoing fleet after the roundtable discussions. Studying potential 
training-related problems affecting the merchant marine's ability to 
carry out specified national commerce and defense objectives to ensure 
economic growth and sealift support in times of war could provide 
information to maritime stakeholders and help MARAD meet its 
responsibilities.

Conclusions: 

It is important that MARAD ensure that the maritime workforce is 
trained to meet the needs of the domestic and oceangoing sectors of 
the maritime industry. The decline in the number of U.S. oceangoing 
vessels is adversely affecting the maritime industry's ability to meet 
sealift requirements. Considering that DOD relies on the merchant 
marine during times of war, it is imperative that MARAD continue to 
study any potential problems that jeopardize fulfilling U.S. national 
defense objectives, in particular, whether there is a large enough 
pool of trained U.S. mariners. However, the Secretary's legislatively 
mandated role, delegated to MARAD, also includes ensuring that the 
entire merchant marine, both the oceangoing and domestic sectors, is 
sufficient to satisfy national commerce objectives. MARAD's resources 
and actions, however, are predominantly focused on the oceangoing 
industry's contribution to national defense. Many of the stakeholders 
we interviewed--including academy stakeholders responsible for 
training oceangoing mariners--have noticed this focus and are 
concerned about MARAD's lack of data and studies on the domestic 
maritime industry. For MARAD to meet its mission to foster, promote, 
and develop the entire U.S. merchant maritime industry, it is 
important that MARAD study any potential problems that could arise in 
fulfilling U.S. national commerce objectives for both the oceangoing 
and domestic waterways including whether there are sufficient numbers 
of trained mariners for all sectors of the maritime industry.

As MARAD develops a national maritime strategy and assists DOT in 
developing a national freight strategic plan, it has taken a step in 
the direction of studying problems facing the various sectors of the 
maritime industry with the January 2014 roundtable discussions with 
industry stakeholders. The development of the national maritime 
strategy can serve as an opportunity to determine whether there are 
any potential problems related to all sectors of the industry, 
including the training issues raised by the stakeholders we 
interviewed. MARAD would also have the opportunity to identify what 
analyses to conduct to understand how the U.S. maritime-training 
infrastructure can better meet the needs of the domestic waterways. 
Developing a national maritime strategy without the collection and 
analysis of fundamental industry information about the domestic 
maritime workforce could make it more difficult for MARAD to identify 
potential problems with ensuring sufficient numbers of trained 
mariners for all maritime industry sectors.

Recommendation for Executive Action: 

As part of the development of a national maritime strategy and a 
national freight strategic plan, we recommend that the Secretary of 
Transportation direct MARAD--in consultation with maritime industry 
stakeholders--to study and identify any potential problems in ensuring 
that U.S. mariners are adequately trained to meet the needs of the 
entire maritime industry, including the domestic waterways. Public 
forums, such as MARAD's roundtable discussions, could serve as a means 
for gaining industry input on potential training issues.

Agency Comments: 

We provided a draft of this report to the Secretaries of 
Transportation, Homeland Security, and Department of Defense for 
review and comment. DOT did not agree or disagree with our 
recommendation but provided technical comments, which we incorporated 
as appropriate. The Department of Homeland Security also provided 
technical comments, which we incorporated as appropriate. DOD did not 
have any comments.

We are sending copies of this report to the appropriate congressional 
committees, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Homeland 
Security, and the Secretary of Defense. In addition, the report is 
available at no charge on the GAO website at [hyperlink, 
http://www.gao.gov].

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please 
contact me at (202) 512-2834 or StJamesL@gao.gov. Contact points for 
our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found 
on the last page of this report. GAO staff who made major 
contributions to this report are listed in appendix II. 

Signed by: 

Lorelei St. James: 
Director, Physical Infrastructure: 

[End of section] 

Appendix I: Scope and Methodology: 

The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012 mandated us to 
review mariner training. Because of the large size and diversity of 
the U.S. maritime industry--such as the number of government agencies 
with maritime responsibilities, areas of operations, training 
requirements and regulations, training providers, and vessel-owning 
companies--we limited the scope of our review in the following ways. 
We focused on the three federal government agencies that have a broad 
and direct impact on training for the maritime industry: the Maritime 
Administration (MARAD), which has broad statutory responsibilities for 
overseeing the health of the maritime industry, including statutory 
responsibilities delegated by the Secretary of Transportation 
regarding the training of mariners and ensuring that the merchant 
marine meets U.S. waterborne commerce and national defense objectives; 
Coast Guard, which regulates the training infrastructure; develops 
training standards; approves maritime schools, courses and 
instructors; and issues credentials to mariners; and Military Sealift 
Command, which sets the training-related requirements for U.S. 
mariners to augment military sealift capabilities during times of war 
or national emergency. We selected for interview a non-probability 
sample of industry stakeholders based on such factors as area of 
operation, location, industry sector, and training provider type. We 
did not study the impact of training requirements on the maritime 
workforce primarily because the proposed Coast Guard regulations 
promulgating the most recent iteration of international training 
requirements had not been issued in a final form in time for our 
review. The Coast Guard issued the final regulation incorporating the 
IMO's 2010 amendments to the STCW on December 24, 2013.

Our report examines the following questions: (1) What is the 
availability of government (federal, state, and local) and private 
sector entities that currently provide training to U.S. mariners? (2) 
What federal and non-federal financial assistance that available to 
mariners to help them meet training requirements? (3) What actions has 
MARAD taken to ensure there are trained mariners to meet commerce and 
national defense needs, and what are the views of merchant marine 
stakeholders on these actions and on current and potential training 
issues?

To describe what is known about government and private entities that 
provide mariner training, we obtained and reviewed documents from 
government and non-government stakeholders about training requirements 
and their training infrastructure. Specifically, we analyzed 
information about training requirements for U.S mariners, including 
current federal regulations governing training for mariners working on 
both oceangoing and domestic commercial waterways. Title 46 (Shipping) 
of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) contain the Coast Guard's 
training-related requirements for both oceangoing and domestic 
waterways. Oceangoing regulations include the implementation of the 
International Maritime Organization's (IMO) International Convention 
on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for 
Seafarers, 1978, as amended (STCW). Concerning how mariners receive 
training that satisfies commercial-oceangoing and domestic 
requirements and military requirements, we reviewed information and 
interviewed officials from MARAD; the Coast Guard and its National 
Maritime Center (NMC) in Martinsburg, West Virginia; and the Military 
Sealift Command. Specifically, the MARAD documents and data we 
analyzed included the number of federal and state maritime academy 
graduates in the past 5 years, budgetary resources for fiscal years 
2009-2013, and industry studies and statistics. From the Coast Guard 
and NMC we obtained and analyzed documents and data on the numbers of 
mariner-training certificates issued by non-academy training providers 
in the last 5 years and the NMC's process for approving training 
providers and courses. Although our use of Coast Guard and MARAD data 
was limited in our report, we conducted interviews with knowledgeable 
agency officials in order to ensure the data were sufficiently 
reliable for our use. Regarding military sealift, we analyzed Military 
Sealift Command documents on its wartime requirements for the 
oceangoing vessels and the associated training requirements for 
merchant mariners.

The non-probability sample of maritime industry stakeholders that we 
selected for interviews included: 

* 5 unions;

* 4 associations representing the maritime industry;

* 21 training providers, of which 6 were maritime academies, 4 were 
union-affiliated schools, 5 were maritime companies that offer 
training, 4 were for-profit training providers, and 2 were non-profit 
training providers; and: 

* 7 members of the Merchant Mariner Personnel Advisory Committee, 
which advises the Coast Guard on merchant marine personnel issues, 
such as training, qualifications, certification and other issues.

We selected these stakeholders because of their wide knowledge and 
roles in multiple aspects of the maritime industry. We also conducted 
site visits to maritime industry facilities and training providers in 
the New York City and Houston, Texas, areas. We selected both areas 
based on the diversity of their maritime industry and their 
concentration of facilities and training providers. We also visited 
three of the four union-affiliated maritime-training schools we 
selected for interviews and toured their facilities, which were 
located in the Washington, D.C., area.

To describe what is known about federal and non-federal financial 
assistance that is available to mariners, we relied on the knowledge 
and experience of the industry stakeholders and government officials 
we selected for interview. We did not intend or attempt to provide a 
comprehensive overview of all possible federal, state, and local 
government and private sector financial assistance programs available 
for mariners, their employers, or their training providers. With the 
industry stakeholders we discussed the types of financial assistance, 
if any, that they provide--such as union and company provided 
training--and their knowledge and use of federal and other non-federal 
financial assistance. Also, we discussed with stakeholders how 
individual mariners pay for training and the types of mariners that do 
not have access to financial assistance. We compared the different 
sources of training as described by the stakeholders and, where 
necessary, we followed up with further research on financial 
assistance for training and education, including reviewing prior GAO 
work in this area.[Footnote 47]

To determine what actions MARAD has taken to ensure there are trained 
merchant mariners to meet commercial industry (both domestic and 
oceangoing) and national defense needs, we interviewed MARAD 
officials, including from the Office of Maritime Workforce 
Development, the unit responsible for conducting studies on the 
population of trained and qualified mariners; reviewed MARAD's 
publicly available studies, statistics, and surveys of the maritime 
industry; and included this topic in our interviews with industry 
stakeholders. With MARAD officials, we discussed the agency's current 
priorities and its ongoing and future efforts to study the U.S. 
mariner population. In particular, we discussed MARAD's current 
collaboration with maritime unions to determine whether the pool of 
mariners in the oceangoing industry is sufficient to meet military 
sealift requirements. We also analyzed MARAD's budget for the fiscal 
years 2009-2013 and its current strategic plan covering 2008-2013. In 
addition, we discussed MARAD's budgetary priorities and how the agency 
focuses its work and accomplishes its statutorily mandated objectives 
regarding the maritime industry as a whole.

To determine the views of merchant marine stakeholders on current and 
potential training issues, we developed semi-structured interview 
guides to elicit stakeholders' views on current training issues within 
the maritime industry, including federal regulations and oversight, as 
well as to collect basic information from the stakeholders, such as 
the demographics of the mariner population they represent and specific 
training-related information. We identified the following limitations 
that should be considered when using the results of our interviews 
with maritime industry stakeholders. First, the stakeholders we 
selected for interview were not a representative sample of the 
industry and, therefore, the views we received from them should not be 
interpreted as representing the industry as a whole. Second, 
information from our site visits and interviews is illustrative and 
cannot be generalized to the maritime industry and training providers.

We conducted this performance audit from March 2013 through January 
2014 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing 
standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit 
to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable 
basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 
We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for 
our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 

[End of section] 

Appendix II: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

GAO Contact: 

Lorelei St. James, (202) 512-2834 or StJamesL@gao.gov.

Staff Acknowledgments: 

In addition to the contact named above, Edward Laughlin (Assistant 
Director); Amy Abramowitz; Jessica Bryant-Bertail; Jose Cardenas; 
Colin Fallon; Geoffrey Hamilton; Sam Hinojosa; Josh Ormond; Emily 
Upstill; and Elizabeth Wood made key contributions to this report.

[End of section] 

Footnotes: 

[1] 46 U.S.C. § 109(a). 

[2] 46 U.S.C. §§ 50101, 51103(a). 

[3] 46 U.S.C. § 50101(a)(1). 

[4] 46 U.S.C. § 50101(a)(2). 

[5] 46 U.S.C. §§ 50101(a)(4). 51101. 

[6] 46 U.S.C. §§ 50101, 50104. 

[7] Pub. L. No. 112-113, § 414, 126 Stat. 1540, 1573. 

[8] See 46 C.F.R., Part 10 Merchant Mariner Credential, Part 11 
Requirements for Officer Endorsements, Part 12 Requirements for Rating 
Endorsements, Part 13 Certification of Tankermen, and Part 310 
Merchant Mariner Training. 

[9] Implementation of the Amendments to the International Convention 
on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for 
Seafarers, 1978, and Changes to National Endorsements; Final rule; 78 
Fed. Reg. 77796 (Dec. 24, 2013).

[10] Pub. L. No. 112-141, § 167, 126 Stat. 405, 468-472 (2012). 

[11] See Improving the Nation's Freight Transportation System: 
Findings and Recommendations of the Special Panel on 21ST Century 
Freight Transportation, House Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, October 2013. The House Committee created the panel in 
April 2013. 

[12] A U.S.-flag vessel is a commercial vessel, registered and 
operated under the laws of the U.S., owned and operated by U.S. 
citizens, and used in commercial trade of the United States. U.S.-flag 
vessels are registered in the United States and subject to additional 
U.S. laws and regulations to which foreign-flag vessels are not subject.

[13] In this report, we divide the commercial areas of maritime 
operation between oceangoing and domestic waterways because this is 
primarily how the different segments of the maritime industry and the 
federal agencies involved generally divide the commercial areas of 
maritime operation. 

[14] The domestic waterways include the Great Lakes, inland waters, 
and western rivers. The term "western rivers" refers to the 
Mississippi River, its tributaries, South Pass, Southwest Pass, and 
other specified waterways and rivers. The term "inland waters" refers 
to navigable waters shoreward of the Boundary Lines as described in 46 
C.F.R. Part 7 with certain exclusions such as the Great Lakes. 

[15] The Military Sealift Command (MSC) provides ocean transportation 
for the Navy and the rest of DOD. MSC reports to the U.S. Fleet Forces 
Command for Navy-unique matters, the U.S. Transportation Command for 
defense transportation matters, and the Assistant Secretary of the 
Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) for procurement policy 
and oversight matters. 

[16] According to MARAD, in 2010 it cost on average 2.7 times more to 
operate (as opposed to fuel or purchase) a U.S.-flag oceangoing vessel 
in foreign trade than to operate a foreign-flag vessel. See U.S. 
Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, Comparison of 
U.S. and Foreign-Flag Operating Costs (September 2011). 

[17] Until July 2012, federal statute provided that the transportation 
of food aid cargoes sponsored by the Secretary of Agriculture were 
subject to an additional 25 percent gross tonnage requirement on U.S.- 
flag vessels. MAP-21 repealed the additional 25 percent requirement 
leaving only the 50 percent requirement, which is the level that 
applies to all other non-DOD government-impelled preference cargoes. 

[18] See 46 C.F.R. Parts 10-13. The Coast Guard also approves all 
training courses and programs intended to qualify U.S. mariners for 
Coast Guard endorsements and issues Coast Guard endorsements to 
Merchant Mariner Credentials. 

[19] Implementation of the Amendments to the International Convention 
on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for 
Seafarers, 1978, and Changes to National Endorsements; Final rule; 78 
Fed. Reg. 77796 (Dec. 24, 2013).

[20] 46 C.F.R. § 10.203(a). 

[21] All prospective mariners who have never held an MMC are required 
to apply for a TWIC because the security threat assessment process is 
integrated with the TWIC application process. Some mariners, however, 
are not required to hold a valid TWIC and must only apply and pass the 
criminal record review to apply for an MMC. Section 809 of the Coast 
Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-281, 124 Stat. 2095) 
permits the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to exempt 
mariners who do not require unescorted access to a secure areas of a 
vessel from the requirement to hold a TWIC as a precondition of 
receiving and holding a MMC. 

[22] Larger vessels also have a "stewards department," which is the 
department onboard responsible for serving food. 46 C.F.R. § 10.109 
lists endorsements including "steward's department" and "stewards 
department (FH)" which are entry level ratings. 

[23] See, for example, United States Coast Guard, Navigation and 
Vessel Inspection Circular 4-01 (May 21, 2001) (towing vessels); 46 
C.F.R. Part 13 (tankers); and STCW A-V/2 (passenger vessels). 

[24] 46 C.F.R. § 12.25-10. Entry level ratings do not require 
training, sea time, examination, or demonstration of proficiency to 
obtain their domestic rating. 

[25] Training is not required for domestic entry level rating 
endorsements.

[26] 46 U.S.C. § 51103(a). This is the Secretary of Transportation's 
general statutory authority, with respect to the merchant marine, 
which is delegated to MARAD. 

[27] The six state maritime academies are the California Maritime 
Academy, Maine Maritime Academy, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, State 
University of New York Maritime College, Texas Maritime College of the 
Texas A&M University at Galveston, and Great Lakes Maritime Academy. 

[28] 46 C.F.R. §§ 310.54, 55, 56. 

[29] 46 C.F.R. § 310.3. 

[30] Mariners who complete the requisite training and certification to 
become officers also receive a license.

[31] Out of the five major maritime unions that have their own 
schools, most represent oceangoing mariners, although some represent 
domestic mariners, primarily operating on the Great Lakes and inland 
waterways. 

[32] In addition, mariners in training programs--both at the maritime 
academies and in non-academy training programs--may be eligible for 
education tax credits that could help offset the costs of training. As 
we recently reported, tax credits such as the American opportunity 
credit and the lifetime-learning credit reduce tax filers' income tax 
liability on a dollar-for-dollar basis for qualified education 
expenses. The Business Deduction for Work-Related Education Tax may 
also benefit tax filers pursuing training. Deductible expenses include 
tuition, books, supplies, lab fees, certain transportation and travel 
costs and other education expenses. See GAO, Higher Education: 
Improved Tax Information Could Help Families Pay for College, GAO-12-
560 (Washington, D.C.: May 18, 2012). 

[33] Pub. L. No. 110-252, 122 Stat. 2323, 2357. See also GAO, VA 
Education Benefits: Student Characteristics and Outcomes Vary across 
Schools, GAO-13-567 (Washington, D.C.: July 25, 2013). The VA provided 
nearly $11 billion in postsecondary education benefits through 
multiple programs to almost 1-million veterans and their beneficiaries 
in fiscal year 2012. The majority of such payments--over $8 billion--
was distributed through the Post-9/11 GI Bill. 

[34] All training providers accepting Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits must 
fulfill certain responsibilities, such as keeping the VA informed 
about the enrollment status of veterans; keeping the VA informed of 
new programs and changes in current programs; and keeping up to date 
on current VA rules and benefits. 

[35] As we reported in 2011, Department of Labor programs are a major 
source of funding for federally funded employment and training 
programs. Based on the results of a survey, GAO found that about 77 
percent of the total number of participants served across all 
federally funded employment and training programs received services 
through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Adult program and the 
Employment Service / Wagner-Peyser Fund program, both of which are 
administered by the Department of Labor. See GAO, Multiple Employment 
and Training Programs: Providing Information and Colocating Services 
and Consolidating Administrative Structures Could Promote 
Efficiencies, GAO-11-92 (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 13, 2011). 

[36] A prospective or current mariner could be eligible to receive 
direct funds for training services through Department of Labor 
programs such as the WIA Adult program. The WIA Adult program and the 
Employment Service program are typically administered by the 
respective state workforce agency. The available training as well as 
the individual eligibility requirements would vary by state. 

[37] Although all the maritime unions we interviewed pay for mariner 
training, all union members are required to pay dues to maintain their 
membership.

[38] For example, as we recently reported, foreign shipyards--such as 
those in China, Japan, and South Korea--can build vessels for less 
than U.S. shipyards. See GAO, Puerto Rico: Characteristics of the 
Island's Maritime Trade and Potential Effects of Modifying the Jones 
Act, GAO-13-260 (Washington, D.C.: Mar 14, 2013). 

[39] See DOT, U.S. Water Transportation Statistical Snapshot 
(Washington, D.C.: November 2013). 

[40] 46 U.S.C. §§ 50101, 50104. 

[41] MARAD is responsible for determining whether adequate manpower is 
available to support the operation of sealift ships during a crisis, 
as set forth in the National Security Sealift Policy, National 
Security Directive (NSD) No. 28, October 5, 1989. 

[42] DOT, Merchant Mariner Training to Meet Sealift Requirements: A 
Report to Congress. Maritime Administration (Washington, D.C.: August 
2004). 

[43] Maritime Transportation: Hearings on the Role of U.S. Ships and 
Mariners Before the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime 
Transportation, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
May 21, 2013. 

[44] MARAD's prioritization of resources for national defense is also 
reflected by its proposal for fiscal year 2014 to realign the Maritime 
Workforce Development office, which is responsible for the review and 
development of broad national policies and programs in the area of 
maritime labor and training, to be under the Strategic Sealift 
Associate Administrator. Maritime Workforce Development is the MARAD 
office that conducted the study to determine whether the current pool 
of oceangoing mariners is large enough to meet military sealift 
requirements.

[45] John D. Porcari, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, Maritime Transportation: Hearings on the Role of U.S. 
Ships and Mariners, testimony before the House Committee on 
Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and 
Maritime Transportation, 113th Cong., 1st sess., May 21, 2013. 

[46] Paul N. Jaenichen, Acting Maritime Administrator, Maritime 
Transportation Regulations: Hearings on the Impacts on Safety, 
Security, Jobs and the Environment, Part I, testimony before the House 
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Coast 
Guard and Maritime Transportation, 113th Cong. 1st sess., September 
10, 2013. 

[47] See GAO, Multiple Employment and Training Programs: Providing 
Information and Colocating Services and Consolidating Administrative 
Structures Could Promote Efficiencies, GAO-11-92 (Washington, D.C.: 
Jan. 13, 2011); Higher Education: Improved Tax Information Could Help 
Families Pay for College, GAO-12-560 (Washington, D.C.: May 18, 2012); 
and VA Education Benefits: Student Characteristics and Outcomes Vary 
across Schools, GAO-13-567 (Washington, D.C.: Jul 25, 2013).

[End of section] 

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