United States Maritime Administration
The United States Maritime Administration ( MARAD ) is a federal authority under the Ministry of Transport of the United States, based in Washington, DC Head of agency is currently Paul N. Jaenichen, Sr.
History
On 24 May 1950, the United States Maritime Commission dissolved and divided their former responsibilities and tasks between the U.S. Federal Maritime Board and the Maritime Administration. On August 6, 1981 MARAD was subordinated to the Ministry of Transport.
Tasks
The MARAD
- Administers programs for the national merchant marine (United States Merchant Marine )
- Represents the transport infrastructure of the commercial shipping firm and optimizes these
- Conducts research in relevant areas, such as maritime economy by
- Regulates the transcription of U.S. ships to another ship register
- Maintains vessels and maritime facilities of the Federal
- Maintains the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point (New York)
MARAD also maintains the National Defense Reserve Fleet ( NDRF ), an organization for civil protection and for special military operations. The NDRF maintains bases in Beaumont (Texas ) and Benicia ( Suisun Bay, California ) and today owns 28 vessels.
The ship type system of the U.S. Maritime Administration
After the continuing role of MARCOM by the United States Maritime Administration in 1950 led these continued the system introduced by the MARCOM system for the identification of under their supervision designed and built series and individual ships. The system consisted of a structured into three blocks letter and number combination that provides basic information on the nature and size of the designated type of ship. The MARAD presented to the system, however. Then the now somewhat more arbitrary prefix designation of the basic design (1, 2, 3, etc.) followed in the third group of digits an append small letter to identify each single execution. The first draft, the Mariner class called C4 -S -1a, for example, is a dry cargo vessel with a length of over 500 feet of water, steam propulsion plant and single-propeller and the original draft of his series.
The first group identifies the basic vessel type and size. The first letter stands for the type of vessel. The trailing number indicates the length of the waterline.
- C - Cargo ( cargo ship )
- T - Tanker ( Tanker )
- P - Passenger ( passenger ship)
Etc.
The second group identifies the type of machinery, and the number of the propeller.
- S - single-screw steamship ( steamboat with single propeller )
- ST - steamship, twin -screw ( steamboat with double screw drive )
- SE2 - single screw steamship, electric propulsion, > 12 passenger (steam ship with turbo -electric drive, single propeller and equipment for more than twelve passengers)
- ME - single screw ship, diesel electric propulsion ( the ship with diesel-electric drive and single-propeller ), etc.
The abbreviation " T" identifies vessels with double screw drive, a trailing " 1" or " 2" applies to ships with facilities for more than twelve passengers.
The third group refers to the individual ship design. The individual types are numbered. If required are attached to it a small letter on the particular design information, where " a" represents the original design. In addition, retained reconstructions of the two largest building programs of the Second World War, the Liberty and Victory cargo - ship under MARAD supervision each of her first group of digits preceded by a prefix "E" for Emergency ( Liberty ) and "V" for Victory.
A list of MARAD drafts see list of MARAD vessel type