Short sea shipping part of energy bill

Short sea shipping part of energy bill Provisions in an energy bill passed by the House of Representatives on Saturday would promote short sea shipping as a means of mitigating congestion on the highways.
   But the outlook for the sweeping bill, which promotes development of renewable energy resources, remains uncertain. It differs from Senate legislation, and the Bush administration has threatened a veto because, among other things, it says it does not promote increased domestic production of oil and gas.
   The provisions to promote short sea shipping authorize the Transportation Secretary to “designate short sea transportation routes as extensions of the surface transportation system to focus public and private efforts to use the waterways to relieve landside congestion along coastal corridors.”
   The bill would promote shipping between U.S. ports, or to and from Canadian ports on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway.
   DOT can promote those services and enter into agreements with other federal agencies to transport government-controlled cargo on short sea routes “when practical or available.”
   It gives the DOT the power to make up to $2 billion in loan guarantees for the construction or rebuilding of container or roll-on/roll-off vessels for short sea shipping, and authorizes $25 million per year to carry out the program from fiscal years 2008-2011.