Aug. 24, 2023

Commerce Secretary Raimondo Designates Ms. Nicole LeBoeuf to Lead the Coordinating Board

Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo has designated Nicole LeBoeuf, Assistant Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Ocean Service, as the chair of the Coordinating Board of the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS). The Coordinating Board Chair provides leadership and guidance to the Executive Secretariat and 35+ agency members.

Aug. 22, 2023

Public Comment for Proposed National Guidance for Industry on Responding to Munitions and Explosives of Concern in U.S. Federal Waters

The CMTS invites public comments on proposed national guidance concerning the process for addressing the discovery of munitions and explosives of concern on the U.S. outer continental shelf during offshore energy development. The CMTS will consider the public comments submitted during this comment period in issuing any final National Guidance.

April 1, 2023

MTS Resilience Assessment Guide

CISA has released the Marine Transportation System Resilience Assessment Guide. This is the culmination of five years of effort across a partnership that originated within the CMTS Resilience Integrated Action Team.

March 3, 2023

2023 National Stategy

The National Strategy on the Marine Transportation System (2023-2028) was initiated by an ad hoc interagency development team in January 2022. The 2023 National Strategy replaces the 2017 National Strategy and provides strategic guidance to the Federal interagency partnership to enhance the Federal understanding and support of the marine transportation system (MTS) under five priority areas. The Strategy went through interagency reviews, and was approved by the CMTS Coordinating Board before being signed by Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg on March 3, 2023.

Jan. 13, 2023

Executive Director Helen Brohl Retires

HUGE congratulations are in order for our Executive Director Helen Brohl! Helen retired on January 13th after over 20 years in Federal Service. She was the first ever Executive Director for the CMTS and was appointed to that position in 2006 by then Secretary of Transportation Norma Mineta. Helen was our fearless leader for 17 years, trail blazing the CMTS through countless dynamic issues including Federal infrastructure financing and investment, system performance measures, navigation technology integration and coordination, and integration of marine transportation issues into the President's Ocean Policy and National Export Initiatives.

Jan. 11, 2023

CMTS Mariner Mental Health Working Group Hosted a Virtual Discussion

The CMTS Mariner Mental Health Working Group hosted a virtual discussion, "Challenges and Solutions to Mariner Mental Health and Wellbeing" on Wednesday January 11th, 2023. This meeting discussed the challenges and real solutions to support the mental health and wellbeing of mariners. The program included one presentation and two panel discussions.

Nov. 16, 2022

CMTS holds workshop to discuss the MTS Resilience Assessment Guide

The CMTS Maritime Resilience Integrated Action Team (RIAT) fosters interagency engagement to incorporate the concepts of resilience into the operation and management of the U.S. Marine Transportation System (MTS). The RIAT is co-led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Over the past few years, the RIAT focused on studying the response and resilience of the MTS after major hurricanes.

Nov. 1, 2022

The CMTS has updated the directory of MTS-related Federal Advisory Committees

The CMTS has updated the directory of MTS-related Federal Advisory Committees. Advisory committees are a way of ensuring public and expert involvement and advice in Federal decision-making.

Oct. 14, 2022

U.S. Coast Guard Delivers U.S. Waterway Harmonized Geospatial Dataset to Federal Agency Partners

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate and the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System's (CMTS) Future of Navigation Integrated Action Team (IAT), delivered a harmonized geospatial dataset of national waterways to Federal agency members of the CMTS.

Oct. 5, 2022

CMTS Mariner Mental health Working Group hears from Women Offshore

To better understand the stresses and needs of merchant mariners, the CMTS Working Group for Mariner Mental Health heard from members of the Women Offshore Foundation at the monthly meeting on October 5th, 2022. Ally Cedeno, Christine MacMillan, Cassi Laskowski, and Emily Bull shared their experiences at sea, the importance of company & ship culture, and the activities that had a positive impact on them at work.

Sept. 28, 2022

DOD Leads CMTS Coordinating Board

MG William "Butch" Graham, Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, chaired his first CMTS Coordinating Board meeting on Wednesday, October 28, 2022. Held in person for the first time in two-and-a-half years and at DOT headquarters, 27 CMTS federal member agencies joined the Major General to consider the 2022-2023 CMTS work plan which was approved unanimously for priority areas related to interagency unity of effort, health and welfare of the MTS workforce, sustainable MTS, and safe and efficient supply chain.

Sept. 8, 2022

The U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System (CMTS) is pleased to report the publication of a short video called "Careers in Maritime."

This video was coordinated by the CMTS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Team and the Recruitment and Retention Task Team to support federal MTS-agency efforts to increase the diversity of the marine transportation system but also address a critical shortage of mariners with Federal employers such as military sealift command and the NOAA Corps, as well as to support the critical shortage of U.S. merchant mariners with in industry.

Sept. 7, 2022

CMTS Mariner Mental Health Working Group Hears from Dr. Jason Zuidema, North American Maritime Ministry Association

As part of an initiative to understand the stresses to merchant mariners, the CMTS Working Group for Mariner Mental Health heard from Dr. Jason Zuidema from the North American Maritime Ministry Association (NAMMA). At the monthly Working Group meeting on September 7, 2022, Dr. Zuidema provided an overview of how NAMMA supports seafarers in ports and the important issue of social isolation experienced by mariners across the world.

Aug. 26, 2022

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III designates MG William "Butch" Graham to lead CMTS Coordinating Board

The CMTS is pleased to share that Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III designated MG William "Butch" Graham, Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the chair for the CMTS Coordinating Board for a 12-month term which began August 1, 2022. The Coordinating Board Chair provides leadership and guidance to the Executive Secretariat and 25+ agency members.

Aug. 22, 2022

2022 CMTS Federal Maritime Security Directory

The CMTS has published an August 2022 update of the directory of federal maritime security organizations in the Federal Government.

June 29, 2022

The CMTS Working Group for Mariner Mental Health has updated the Mariner Mental Health Resources catalog for United States Mariners

The CMTS Working Group for Mariner Mental Health has updated the "COVID-19 Working Group's Mental Health Resources for U.S. Merchant Mariners and Critical Workforce in the MTS."

June 1, 2022

CMTS and AAPA partner to host Infrastructure Week 2022 panel on MTS Infrastructure Investments

The CMTS partnered with the American Association of Port Authorities to co-host a panel of experts, titled Will Today's Infrastructure Investments Meet the Needs of Tomorrow, to highlight recent investments in the US MTS. Panelists discussed how recent generational investments in the MTS, such as those made in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, can enable the US MTS to be safe, efficient, and internationally competitive into the future.

May 17, 2022

May 17, 2022, 2 p.m. EDT, Webinar: Will Today's MTS Infrastructure Investments Meet the Needs of Tomorrow?

The CMTS is, once again, co-hosting a virtual panel discussion with the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) during National United for MTS Infrastructure Week.

May 9, 2022

CMTS Publishes Fifth Edition of the Federal Funding Handbook for MTS Infrastructure

The CMTS has released the Fifth Edition of the Federal Funding Handbook for Marine Transportation

May 1, 2022

Mental Health Awareness Month

May was Mental Health Awareness Month and the CMTS Mariner Mental Health Working Group (MMHWG) reminds mariners that one year ago, and prompted by the stressors related to working under COVID 19, the U.S. Coast Guard issued Marine Safety Information Bulletin 07-21 that spotlighted the mental health of mariners. The prolonged nature of the pandemic compounded existing stressors and created new stressors on maritime personnel, including feelings of isolation, and physical and mental fatigue caused by pandemic-related restrictions on crew changes, shore leave, and repatriation of seafarers.