TECO ?DISAPPOINTED? BY MARAD DECISION

TECO ôDISAPPOINTEDö BY MARAD DECISION    TECO Ocean Shipping told U.S. Maritime Administration officials it was “surprised” and “disappointed” by the agency’s decision to reverse confirmation of its U.S.-flag dry bulk vessel, the 'Sheila McDevitt,' to enter the international cargo preference trade.
   MarAd had originally confirmed the Japanese-built 40,000-deadweight-ton vessel for the cargo preference trade on Feb. 22 after TECO (formerly Gulfcoast Transit Co.) bought the ship from a U.S. Marshals Service auction in Miami.
   The agency based its confirmation on the Cargo Preference Act’s Section 901(b). MarAd also said that since 1792, Congress has allowed vessels forfeited to the federal government for breaking the law to register and operate in the U.S.-flag domestic trades. The three-year wait period that normally accompanies foreign-built-and-flagged vessels acquired under U.S. flag was unnecessary in these cases.
   TECO had planned to use the 'Sheila McDevitt' to increase its international food-aid transport business. One of the biggest pieces of the cargo preference trade is food-aid under Public Law 480 programs, Title II and Title III.
   However, MarAd’s confirmation of the 'Sheila McDevitt' came under fire from other carriers in the international food-aid trade.
   “The outstanding condition of the vessel was a significant factor in our decision to purchase and re-flag the vessel,” said Cliff Johnson, director of business development for Tampa-based TECO Ocean Shipping. “The addition of the vessel to the preference trade would also result in greater competition and lower costs to the U.S. taxpayer.”
   While MarAd reviewed the opposition’s comments, TECO operated the 'Sheila McDevitt' in the U.S. coastwise Jones Act trade. The vessel was even used to transport U.S. military equipment from the U.S. Gulf to Hawaii.
   “Given these facts, we can’t comprehend why the Maritime Administration now finds the 'Sheila McDevitt' ineligible for food aid preference cargo,” Johnson said. “Our company invested millions of dollars into this vessel — with work done solely in a U.S. domestic shipyard.”