Notice2023-04352
Buy America Request for Information; Federal Ship Financing Program
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 3, 2023
Issuing agencies
Transportation DepartmentMaritime Administration
Abstract
MARAD, a modal agency of DOT, administers the Federal Ship Financing Program ("Title XI"), which provides loan guarantees to finance the construction of commercial vessels in U.S. shipyards or shipyard projects. Although Title XI provides important support for U.S. shipyards, the U.S. maritime industry in general, including the shipbuilding sector, has been on the decline for decades. As a result, U.S. shipyards frequently turn to foreign manufacturers for a variety of components that are not made in the U.S. This RFI is intended to gather information regarding the availability of domestically manufactured components for commercial shipbuilding in the U.S., particularly considering the investment planned in commercial shipbuilding for support of offshore windfarm facilities by MARAD through loan guarantees from the Title XI program. MARAD is seeking input from the public, including stakeholders (such as State and local agencies, the marine component manufacturing industry, component suppliers, labor unions, related associations, ship operators, and transportation advocates), on the availability of ship components manufactured in the U.S. that can meet the Title XI domestic content requirement.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 42 (Friday, March 3, 2023)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 42 (Friday, March 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13508-13510]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-04352]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Maritime Administration
[Docket Number MARAD-2023-0041]
Buy America Request for Information; Federal Ship Financing
Program
AGENCY: Maritime Administration (MARAD), Department of Transportation
(DOT).
ACTION: Notice; request for information (RFI).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: MARAD, a modal agency of DOT, administers the Federal Ship
Financing Program (``Title XI''), which provides loan guarantees to
finance the construction of commercial vessels in U.S. shipyards or
shipyard projects. Although Title XI provides important support for
U.S. shipyards, the U.S. maritime industry in general, including the
shipbuilding sector, has been on the decline for decades. As a result,
U.S. shipyards frequently turn to foreign manufacturers for a variety
of components that are not made in the U.S. This RFI is intended to
gather information regarding the availability of domestically
manufactured components for commercial shipbuilding in the U.S.,
particularly considering the investment planned in commercial
shipbuilding for support of offshore windfarm facilities by MARAD
through loan guarantees from the Title XI program. MARAD is seeking
input from the public, including stakeholders (such as State and local
agencies, the marine component manufacturing industry, component
suppliers, labor unions, related associations, ship operators, and
transportation advocates), on the availability of ship components
manufactured in the U.S. that can meet the Title XI domestic content
requirement.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 3, 2023.
ADDRESSES: To ensure that you do not duplicate your docket submissions,
please submit all comments by only one of the following ways:
[ssquf] Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> and follow the online instructions for submitting
comments.
[ssquf] Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-
0001.
[ssquf] Hand Delivery: W12-140 of the Department of Transportation,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590 between 9 a.m. and 5
p.m. E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays. The
telephone number is 202-366-9329.
[ssquf] Instructions: You must include the agency name and the
docket number, MARAD-2023-0041, at the beginning of your comments. All
comments received will be posted without change to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal information provided.
[ssquf] Note: Input submitted online via <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> is not
immediately posted to the site. It may take several business days
before your submission is posted.
[ssquf] Privacy Act: Anyone can search the electronic form of all
comments received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.). For information on
DOT's compliance with the Privacy Act, please visit <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/privacy">https://www.transportation.gov/privacy</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. David Heller, MARAD Associate
Administrator for Business and Finance Development, 202-366-1850, or
via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#375356415e53195f525b5b52457753584319505841"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="1c787d6a75783274797070796e5c787368327b736a">[email protected]</span></a>. For legal questions, please contact
Ms. Lauren Gill, MARAD Office of Chief Counsel, 202-366-2150, or via
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#acc0cdd9dec9c282cbc5c0c0ecc8c3d882cbc3da"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a1cdc0d4d3c4cf8fc6c8cdcde1c5ced58fc6ced7">[email protected]</span></a>. Office hours for MARAD are from 8 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., E.T., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Electronic Access
A copy of this Notice, all comments received on this Notice, and
all background material may be viewed online at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> using the docket number listed above. Electronic
retrieval help and guidelines are also available at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. An electronic copy of this document also may be
downloaded from the Office of the Federal Register's website at:
<a href="http://www.FederalRegister.gov">www.FederalRegister.gov</a> and the Government Publishing Office's database
at: <a href="http://www.GovInfo.gov">www.GovInfo.gov</a>.
Confidential Business Information
Confidential Business Information (CBI) is commercial or financial
information that is both customarily and actually treated as private by
its owner. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. 552),
CBI is exempt from public disclosure. If your comments responsive to
this RFI contain commercial or financial information that is
customarily treated as private, that you actually treat as private, and
that is relevant or responsive to this RFI, it is important that you
clearly designate the submitted comments as CBI. You may ask DOT to
give confidential treatment to information you give to the Department
by taking the following steps: (1) Mark each page of the original
document submission containing CBI as ``Confidential''; (2) send DOT,
along with the original document, a second copy of the original
document with the CBI deleted; and (3) explain why the information you
are submitting is CBI. Unless you are notified otherwise, DOT will
treat such marked submissions as confidential under the FOIA, and they
will not be placed in the public docket of this RFI. Submissions
containing CBI should be sent to Mr. David Heller, Associate
Administrator for Business and Finance Development, Room W21-318,
MARAD, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590. Any
[[Page 13509]]
comment submissions that DOT receives that are not specifically
designated as CBI will be placed in the public docket for this matter.
Background
As expressed in Executive Order 14005, Ensuring the Future Is Made
in All of America by All of America's Workers (86 FR 7475), it is the
policy of the Executive Branch to maximize, consistent with law, the
use of goods, products, and materials produced in, and services offered
in, the United States. Although the Title XI statute does not contain
any domestic content requirements, as a matter of policy, MARAD adopted
a domestic content requirement by regulation, set forth in 46 CFR
298.13.\1\ Rather than affirmatively requiring recipients to meet a
domestic content standard as a condition of financial assistance, under
Section 298.13(b)(2), MARAD excludes from the loan amount that MARAD
guarantees the costs of foreign components and services used in vessel
construction unless MARAD grants a waiver for these costs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ MARAD has determined that the requirements of the Build
America, Buy America Act (BABA), enacted as part of the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58, November
15, 2021), relating to the use of domestic steel, iron, manufactured
products, and construction materials do not apply to the Title XI
program because the recipients of such assistance are for-profit
entities which, as indicated in the Office of Management and
Budget's Initial Implementation Guidance on Application of Buy
America Preference in Federal Financial Assistance Programs for
Infrastructure, M-22-11 (April 18, 2022), are not considered non-
Federal entities for purposes of applying the BABA domestic
preference requirements for public infrastructure projects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARAD reviews waiver requests based on certifications from the
applicant that:
(A) A foreign item or service is not available in the United States
on a timely or price-competitive basis, or
(B) The domestic item or service is not of sufficient quality.
Under Title XI's domestic content requirement, an item is
considered to be available in the United States (i.e., domestic) if it
is manufactured in the U.S. As indicated at 46 CFR 298.13(b)(2)(i),
MARAD does not grant waivers for major foreign components of the ship's
hull and superstructure. This requirement tracks the long-established
U.S. construction requirement for ships to operate in the Jones Act
trade, set forth in 46 CFR 67.97, which is regulated by the U.S. Coast
Guard. Pursuant to section 67.97, a vessel must be assembled entirely
in the United States, and all ``major components of the hull and
superstructure'' must be fabricated in the United States to be
considered built in the United States.
Title XI's domestic content requirement is intended to incentivize
shipowners to purchase vessels that have maximized the use of domestic-
made products and components in an effort to create a steady source of
demand that will help catalyze domestic production and bolster thin
supply chains. However, the availability of components for commercial
ships is heavily influenced by the nature and size of the product
market. The U.S. has a significantly smaller domestic commercial
shipbuilding industry than the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and
China due to government support for that type of heavy-industrial
manufacturing by those countries. In addition to the higher cost of
operating in a small domestic market, U.S. commercial ship component
manufacturers are also limited in their ability to compete by
differences in domestic and international maritime specifications/
standards. Consequently, domestically manufactured components specified
for the construction of a ship are often either unavailable or, if
available, cannot be used as a substitute within a system of components
that is foreign manufactured. For instance, if a single manufacturer is
responsible for a propulsion system, substituting a foreign-
manufactured component with a comparable U.S. manufactured component
may void the warranty for the entire system or make the entire
propulsion system unreliable. As a result, the U.S. shipbuilding
industry must incorporate some foreign manufactured components in
almost all types of ships. Currently, MARAD has some understanding of
the availability of ship components in the United States that can
comply with Title XI's domestic content requirement but wishes to
expand its available information, particularly with the recent
significant interest and investments in offshore windfarm facilities.
Therefore, with the goal of maximizing the use of and expanding ship
component manufacturing in the U.S., MARAD is seeking information on
sourcing compliant domestic components available to the U.S. commercial
shipbuilding industry, based on a list of components that MARAD has
previously identified as not typically available domestically. By
shifting and maximizing manufacturing to the U.S. for ship components
as soon as is practicable, domestic manufacturing firms have the
potential to obtain significant benefits from the investments planned
in the commercial shipbuilding industry.
This RFI is intended to: (i) help MARAD better understand whether
and to what extent domestic sourcing is available now or may be
possible in the future for commercial ship components that have
historically only been available from foreign sources; (ii) ensure U.S.
shipbuilders and ship operators have the opportunity to identify any
commercial ship component market resources meeting the Title XI
domestic content requirement; and (iii) highlight the benefits of
shifting manufacturing to the U.S., considering the investment planned
in this area.
Request for Information
Through this RFI, MARAD seeks information and suggestions from the
public and a broad array of stakeholders that may be familiar with or
interested in manufacturing domestic ship components. Specifically,
MARAD seeks information regarding the availability of domestic ship
components to the U.S. commercial shipbuilding industry, and their
inclusion in Title XI projects. This information will be used to better
assess requests for waivers and encourage use of domestic-made
components.
As a baseline, MARAD has identified the following categories of
ship components it believes are not currently manufactured in the U.S.
through information it has collected as part of its domestic content
review of Title XI ship construction projects over the past decades:
[ssquf] Marine Propulsion--energy generating systems, propulsion
units, transmission propulsion systems, marine diesel, support systems,
fuel service, spares.
[ssquf] Navigation Systems--interior/exterior communications,
surface surveyance, navigation systems (RADAR, GMDSS, ECDIS, INMARSAT),
spares.
[ssquf] Auxiliary Systems--pumps (including waterjet pumps and
waterjet thrusters), climate control (HVAC systems), firefighting
systems, compressed air systems, ventilation fans, boilers, ship
control (steering, rudder, trim/heel, maneuvering, motion control/
stabilizers and fins), cranes and elevators, anchoring and mooring
systems.
[ssquf] Electric Plant--electric power generation, power
distribution systems (electrical switchboards and switchgear), electric
motors, lighting systems, batteries (EV power generation), power
generation supports, special purpose systems, spares.
[[Page 13510]]
[ssquf] Outfitting and Furnishings--ship fittings, hull
compartmentation (grating, ladders), motion compensation (walkway,
accommodation ladder), coatings, living spaces (modular cabins).
In this RFI, these items are referred to collectively as the
``Foreign Components.'' MARAD encourages commenters to identify ship
components listed above that currently have sufficient domestic
availability to support Title XI projects, or to recommend
modifications to the above listed components or categories of
components so domestic sources may be more readily identified. MARAD
also encourages commenters to identify other components or categories
of components that should be considered ``Foreign Components.''
MARAD is providing the following questions to prompt feedback.
MARAD encourages public comment on any or all of these questions, and
also seeks any other information commenters believe is relevant.
In answering the questions below, MARAD asks that you specify in
your written comments which question(s) you are answering and what type
of ship component(s) you are discussing.
General Questions on the Listed Foreign Components
1. Are there any ship components commonly used in Title XI projects
that are not identified in this RFI as Foreign Components but which, as
a commercial shipbuilder or ship operator, you believe should be
brought to MARAD's attention as a Foreign Component not available in
the US? If so, for each such identified ship component, please provide
the following information:
a. What is the basis and need for that ship component to be
included as a Foreign Component?
b. Please confirm that the component is not part of the hull or
superstructure.
c. What is the typical total cost of the identified Foreign
Component?
d. How much does the cost vary for each Foreign Component? Why does
the cost vary?
e. What is the average delivery timeline for each Foreign Component
identified? Please be specific about which ship component you are
referencing.
f. How much does delivery time vary for each Foreign Component? Why
does the delivery time vary?
g. Where is the place of manufacture of the Foreign Component?
Manufacturer(s) Ability To Meet Title XI's Existing Domestic Content
Requirement
2. Are you aware of any existing ship component manufacturers that
can meet the Title XI domestic content requirement for one or more of
the Foreign Components? If so, for each identified ship component,
please provide the following information:
a. The make, model, and/or specifications of the identified ship
component, as well as its place of final manufacture.
b. Explain how the component is designed for use in the marine
environment.
c. How many of the ship components meeting Title XI's existing
domestic content requirement can be manufactured per year?
d. What is the price typically paid for the domestic ship
component?
e. What is the typical delivery timeline for the domestic ship
component?
f. How much does delivery time vary for each domestic ship
component? Why does the delivery time vary?
g. Where is the place of manufacture of the component?
3. For those Foreign Components that currently cannot meet Title
XI's domestic content requirement, what steps can be taken to provide
ship components that meet Title XI's existing domestic content
requirement? How long might it take to undertake those steps? What is
the volume of ship components that could be shifted to manufacture in
compliance with Title XI's domestic content requirement? Can that
volume be ramped up over time?
4. For manufacturers, ship builders, ship operators, and any other
affected stakeholders, what are the anticipated administrative costs
associated with complying with the Title XI domestic content
requirement?
Ability To Maximize Domestic Content, Services, and Labor
5. Please provide information on how the domestic content of ships
systems (including their components could be maximized (even if all
ship components cannot comply with the Title XI domestic content
requirement).
6. Please provide information on how domestic services and labor
used in the manufacturing of specific ship components could be
maximized (even if the item cannot comply with the Title XI domestic
content requirement).
7. In the absence of a waiver, how would the exclusion of the cost
of foreign components from the amount of a loan under Title XI affect
the financial feasibility of constructing a vessel?
8. How else might MARAD spur and incentivize domestic availability
of ship components commonly used in Title XI projects?
(Authority: 46 U.S.C. chapter 537; 49 CFR 1.93(a), 46 CFR part 298)
By order of the Maritime Administrator.
T. Mitchell Hudson, Jr.,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 2023-04352 Filed 3-2-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-81-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on March 3, 2023.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.