Outgoing MarAd chief praised by U.S.-flag shipping industry

Outgoing MarAd chief praised by U.S.-flag shipping industry    The U.S. Transportation Department said Friday that Capt. William G. Schubert has resigned as head of the Maritime Administration, effective Feb. 12.
   “He was a strong advocate of the nation’s vital maritime transportation system,” said Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta in a statement.
   American maritime labor unions and U.S.-flag vessel interests praised Schubert for his work.
   “He accomplished a lot in just a few years,” said Ron Davis, president of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA), in a statement in the union’s weekly newsletter Friday. “The MEBA will miss him.”
   “I don’t think a maritime administrator could have done more to attract and encourage new vessels to the U.S.-flag fleet. And in the cargo preference area particularly, Bill Schubert reinvigorated the importance of our U.S.-flag shipping requirements by personally visiting every U.S. government shipper agency and making them aware of the overall importance of these programs,” said Gloria Cataneo Tosi, president of Washington-based American Maritime Congress, which represents MEBA and its contracted companies.
   “He did this because he knew it meant more ships and more jobs for the U.S. merchant marine,” she added.
   Schubert is also credited for his management of the large-scale activation of MarAd’s Ready Reserve Force to support combat operations in Iraq.
   In addition, Schubert worked to eliminate trade barriers for American ocean shipping companies doing business in China by successfully negotiating a bilateral maritime agreement between the United States and China.
   DOT said John Jamian, deputy administrator of MarAd, will serve as acting maritime administrator during the White House selection process for a new administrator.
   Schubert plans to return to Houston to take a job in the private sector.