GAO: Short-sea shipping worth more study

GAO: Short-sea shipping worth more study    The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report saying that the Secretary of Transportation and the Maritime Administrator within the Department of Transportation should 'develop a more through understanding of short-sea shipping issues before defining a federal role involving substantial federal investment,' and 'encourage a systematic approach for making investment decisions on freight mobility projects.'
   While affirming that the DOT had made short-sea shipping 'a high priority option,' the GAO found that 'so far, the department's efforts have been too narrowly focused.'
   Lacking 'in-depth information on the benefits and obstacles, opinions vary on how to succeed,' the GAO said.
   The GAO report, compiled between July, 2004 and June 2005, defined short-sea shipping as a 'new mobility enhancing option' ' 'transporting freight by water between domestic ports, either along the coast or on inland waterways.'
   One hindrance thus far has been 'shippers' reluctance to try a different mode for transporting their cargo,' the report said. The report suggested four steps to mitigate such obstacles:
   * Establish whether there is public support for short sea shipping.
   * If there is, provide 'closer scrutiny of the proposed project' through an analysis of costs and benefits.
   * Determine the level and type of public support to be provided.
   * Evaluate ongoing and completed projects.
   Overall, the GAO said short-sea shipping has the potential to mitigate congestion and capacity problems encountered when freight is shipped by truck or rail on land. DOT officials 'generally agreed with the recommendations in this report,' the GAO noted.
   For the full report, entitled 'Freight Transportation: Short Sea Shipping Option Shows Importance of Systematic Approach to Public Investment Decisions,' visit www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-768.