In September 2002, several of the federal agencies and departments that are members of the Interagency Committee for the Marine Transportation System commissioned the National Research Council (NRC), under the auspices of the Transportation Research Board and its Marine Board, to examine the federal role in the marine transportation system (MTS) and develop an analytic framework for federal policy makers to use in assessing system needs and informing and coordinating decisions to meet them. To conduct the study, the NRC formed the 14-member Committee for a Study of the Federal Role in the Marine Transportation System. This 6-chapter report contains the committee's findings and recommendations. Chapter 1 provides background information and an introduction to the report. In Chapter 2, major public- and private-sector forecasts of marine transportation demand for the next two decades are examined, and possible implications of changes in demand for the capacity and functioning of the MTS are assessed. The major roles and responsibilities of the federal government in providing key infrastructure and services that support the MTS are reviewed in Chapter 3. Consideration is given to the federal role in ensuring marine safety, environmental protection, the facilitation of commerce, and national security, as well as to how the federal agencies coordinate their policies and programs within and across each of these major areas of responsibility. The federal roles in aviation and highway transportation are discussed in Chapter 4, and they are compared with the federal role in marine transportation. Elements and features of the federal highway and aviation programs that appear beneficial and may be transferable to a federal marine transportation program are identified. In Chapter 5, the data and reports available for use in assessing and monitoring the performance of the MTS with respect to safety, environment, commerce, and security are reviewed. Consideration is given to how this information is being used to guide federal decisions and where improvements in information are needed. Chapter 6 offers an analytic framework for decision makers to view the components of the MTS, their uses, and the federal role in a more systematic and complete manner. It concludes with recommendations for the federal government to gather and analyze information on MTS performance in support of more informed and responsive federal decision making. (Author/publisher)
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