Strategic Sealift

GAO sponsored a workshop in April 1994 on crewing of the Ready Reserve Force (RRF) to (1) discuss the impact of the declining U.S. merchant marine manpower pool on U.S. sealift capability, (2) identify impediments to timely crewing, and (3) discuss various crewing proposals. Participants included representatives from government agencies, commercial ship managers, and organized maritime labor. Highlighted points that the workshop attendees agreed on included the following: The key to crewing RRF is maintaining a viable U.S. merchant marine industry. The current state of the U.S. maritime industry demands passage of reemployment rights for mariners who volunteer to RRF duty during a crisis. Some form of permanently assigned crews would help maintain a base of skills and experience to run RRF ships. Cooperation among the groups involved with crewing RRF is needed to resolve many issues, such as improvement of the mariner database.

GAO found that government agencies, commercial ship managers, and organized maritime labor agree that: (1) the U.S. merchant marine industry must remain viable in order to provide mariners for RRF; (2) U.S. maritime policy should include national security considerations as well as budgetary factors; (3) mariners who volunteer for RRF should have reemployment rights; (4) the maritime industry should adopt the reduced operating status concept to maintain a cadre of mariners capable of operating RRF vessels; (5) reliance on the commercial sector for mariners would be less expensive and commercial mariners' skills and experience levels would be better than those of merchant marine reservists; and (6) continuing dialogue on RRF crewing, crisis operation guidelines, and contingency procedures could facilitate RRF crewing for national sealift operations. GAO also found that the Coast Guard is implementing a new computer database to identify those mariners who are actively sailing.