REMARKS AS PREPARED BY

MARITIME ADMINISTRATOR REAR ADM. (RET) ANN PHILLIPS

AT EMBARC Quarterly Meeting at the Academy 

Deputy Secretary Trottenberg,  thank you for providing opening remarks for our fourth EMBARC Quarterly and we thank you as well for your leadership. 

Industry leadership, ladies, and gentlemen, thank you for joining us today.  Welcome to everyone here in person and attending virtually.   

Thank you to Vice Admiral Nunan, USMMA Superintendent who is joining us today virtually.   

Let me thank Rear Admiral Wayne Arguin, the Coast Guard’s Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy, for joining us for another EMBARC quarterly. Admiral Arguin sets our nation’s policies regarding safety at sea and he exercises our flag state control. This is our fourth EMBARC quarterly, of which Rear Admiral Arguin has attended the last three.  

I also want to thank the leadership from the State Maritime Academies in attendance.   

Lastly, I want to thank the Leadership and staff of all Shipping Companies, Owners, and Operators in attendance today. Without your hard work and dedication to training Cadets at Sea, this program would not be possible. 

I would like to introduce MARAD’s new ACTING Deputy Maritime Administrator Tamekia Flack.  Tamekia was serving as Chief Council until appointed to this new role effective last Thursday, May 5th with the departure of Ms. Lucinda Lessley.  Lucinda as you know was our acting Administrator from January 20, 2021, the day she  was sworn in  until I was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as the Administrator on May 16, 2022 and then continued to serve as our  Deputy Administrator.  Lucinda  has now returned to working with Congress as a Professional Staff Member on the Minority Staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Please give a warm welcome to the ACTING Deputy Maritime Administrator Flack. 

As many of you recall, our last quarterly meeting was held with great success and participation at the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point NY. The decision to hold the last quarterly at Kings Point was based on your feedback and comments from the previous quarterly meeting held in 2022 October. We listened and acted. Hosting the quarterly on-campus allowed the Academy Midshipmen to see and hear everything we discuss at our quarterly meetings so they are better equipped with the knowledge and understanding of the EMBARC provisions before joining your vessels for Sea Year. We continue to encourage Midshipman and cadet participation from all Academies and invited them here today virtually. Welcome.  

As you all know, the EMBARC standards which were released in December of 2021, have now been operational on some vessels for over a year. MARAD’s Office of Cadet Training At-Sea Safety has been conducting as many as three shipboard assessments per month lately to verify compliance with the EMBARC provisions.   

Companies who have been carrying cadets have all undergone at least one EMBARC vessel assessment. Results from assessments are summarized and returned to vessel operators providing affirmation of compliance with the EMBARC standards, along with any findings which specify areas in which corrective action is necessary.   

By and large the OCTAS team reports that the industry is not just “talking the talk” but also “walking the walk” and taking EMBARC implementation seriously. The shipboard assessment group conducts interviews with the officers, crew and cadets onboard as part of their audit and in general, the feedback has been positive with a noticeable shift in the right direction.  

We have received excellent company and vessel cooperation and we want to thank you for honoring your commitment to the process. I want to personally thank you for valuing the importance of continuous improvement of your processes and procedures. 

Looking forward, thanks to the work of Congress, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 mandates BY LAW that commercial carriers comply with EMBARC before they can train cadets.  Developing a final rule on EMBARC is a very high priority for MARAD. 

As of today, every carrier receiving a federal subsidy has enrolled in EMBARC. We have 16 carriers enrolled and together, they operate more than 140 vessels.  

I would like to ask that all carriers enrolled in EMBARC continue to apply the EMBARC standards aboard every vessel in your fleet and make all vessels available to host cadets for Sea Year training. Doing so will provide the benefits of the standards for a safe and respectful culture to every mariner at sea, and as Deputy Secretary stated, will ensure you rise to the top as an employer of choice that retains your invaluable talent pool while training and attracting the next generation of future mariners. 

Our merchant marine is essential to our national security and our economic security,  I know you will all agree, our merchant marine must reflect the diversity of the nation it serves, and it must be a place where every American of every gender, race, color, and creed is respected, valued, and SAFE.   

I thank you for all that you do for this nation, delivering the goods, in peace and war since 1775. 

I’ll now turn to Vice Admiral Nunan, USMMA Superintendent, for her remarks.  

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