Liberty Global requests judicial review of MarAd’s MSP selection

Liberty Global requests judicial review of MarAd’s MSP selection    Liberty Global Logistics has asked a federal court to review the U.S. Maritime Administration’s criteria for selecting vessels for the new Maritime Security Fleet Program (MSP).
   In its March 18 filing to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Liberty said the agency awarded the MSP contracts in a manner that was “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and not in accordance with law.”
   MarAd announced its list of 60 U.S.-flag vessels to participate in the new MSP program on Jan. 12. The original MSP program, established in 1996, and set to expire Sept. 30, includes 47 U.S.-flag ships.
   The 2003 Maritime Security Act authorized the creation of a new MSP program. MSP provides the Defense Department with immediate access to militarily useful commercial U.S.-flag ships during times of war or national emergency.
   Operators in the program receive a payment from the federal government to help offset the higher operations costs for the ships. MarAd will initially pay $2.6 million per vessel per year when the new MSP program starts in fiscal 2006.
   MarAd began accepting applications for the new MSP over a two-week period, starting Oct. 1, 2004. These applications included 142 ships. The original 47 MSP slots were grandfathered into the new program. MarAd had 13 slots available to new U.S.-flag vessel entrants.
   Liberty said it submitted a timely offer for two roll-on/roll-off vessels, the “Splendid Ace” and “Minami,” to receive MSP contracts. MarAd awarded only one slot for Liberty’s “Splendid Ace.”
   In its court filing, Liberty questioned why some MSP slots were filled with “technically inferior” vessels to what was requested by the Defense Department for the new MSP program. Liberty asked the court to “declare unlawful and set aside MarAd’s award of MSP contracts to vessels not qualified for award.”