[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 158 (Monday, August 17, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43984-43985]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-22127]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Maritime Administration
Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA)
AGENCY: Maritime Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of Open Season For Enrollment in Fiscal Year (FY) 1999
VISA Program.
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Introduction
The VISA program was established pursuant to section 708 of the
Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, which provides for
voluntary agreements for emergency preparedness programs. After review
of a one-year prototype, VISA was approved January 30, 1997, and
published in the Federal Register on February 13, 1997 (62 FR 6837). As
implemented, VISA is open to U.S.-Flag Vessel Operators of militarily
useful vessels, including bareboat charter operators if satisfactory
signed agreements are in place committing the assets of the owner to
the bareboat charterer for purposes of VISA. By order of the Maritime
Administrator on August 4, 1997, participation of U.S.-flag deepwater
tug/barge Operators in VISA was encouraged. Time, voyage, and space
charterers are not considered U.S.-Flag Vessel Operators for purposes
of VISA eligibility.
Participation in VISA, as evidenced by a fully executed VISA
Agreement with the Maritime Administration (MARAD), satisfies the
requirement of section 653 of the Maritime Security Act of 1996 (P.L.
104-239) for Maritime Security Program (MSP) participants to enter into
an Emergency Preparedness Agreement with the Secretary of
Transportation and to receive DoD peacetime contract award priority by
participation in a Emergency Preparedness Program, approved by the
Secretary of Defense (SECDEF).
VISA Concept
The mission of VISA is to provide commercial sealift and intermodal
shipping services and systems, including vessels, vessel space,
intermodal equipment and related management services, to the Department
of Defense (DoD), as necessary, to meet national defense contingency
requirements or national emergencies.
VISA provides for the staged, time-phased availability of
participants' shipping services/systems to meet contingency
requirements through prenegotiated contracts between the Government and
participants. Such arrangements will be jointly planned with MARAD,
USTRANSCOM, and participants in peacetime to allow effective and best
valued use of commercial sealift capacity, to provide DoD assured
contingency access, and to minimize commercial disruption, whenever
possible.
VISA Stages I and II provide for prenegotiated contracts between
the DoD and participants to provide sealift capacity to meet all
projected DoD contingency requirements. These contracts will be
executed in accordance with approved DoD contracting methodologies.
VISA Stage III will provide for additional capacity to the DoD when
Stage I and II commitments or volunteered capacity are insufficient to
meet contingency requirements, and adequate shipping services from non-
participants are not available through established DoD contracting
practices or U.S. Government treaty agreements.
FY 1999 VISA Enrollment Open Season
The purpose of this notice is to invite interested, qualified U.S.-
Flag Vessel Operators to participate in the VISA program for FY 1999
(October 1, 1998 thru September 30, 1999). This is the first annual
enrollment period since the commencement of VISA during which time
participants have been enrolled in the program on an ad-hoc basis. This
enrollment method was adequate during the early period of the program
while the DoD VISA contracting process was under development. However,
now that VISA has been fully integrated into DoD's priority for award
of cargo to VISA participants, it is necessary to link the VISA
enrollment cycle with DoD's peacetime cargo contracting cycle.
Existing VISA participants and new applicants are required to
enroll/re-enroll for the FY 1999 VISA program as described in this
Notice. This alignment of VISA enrollment and eligibility for VISA
priority will solidify the linkage between commitment of contingency
assets by VISA participants and receiving VISA priority consideration
for award of FY 1999 DoD peacetime cargo.
It is the only planned enrollment period for carriers to join VISA
and derive benefits for DoD peacetime contracts during FY 1999. The
only exception to this open season period for VISA enrollment will be
for a non-VISA carrier that reflags a vessel into U.S. registry. That
carrier may join VISA upon completion of reflagging at any time during
the fiscal year.
Advantages of Peacetime Participation
Because enrollment of carriers in VISA provides the DoD with
assured access to sealift services during contingencies based on a
level of commitment, as well as a mechanism for joint planning, the DoD
awards peacetime cargo contracts to VISA participants on a priority
basis. This applies to liner trades and charter contracts alike. Award
of DoD cargoes to meet DoD peacetime and contingency requirements is
made on the basis of the following priorities:
U.S.-flag vessel capacity operated by VISA participants,
and U.S.-flag Vessel Sharing Agreement (VSA) capacity held by VISA
participants.
U.S.-flag vessel capacity operated by non-participants.
Combination U.S.-flag/foreign-flag vessel capacity
operated by VISA participants, and combination U.S.-flag/foreign-flag
VSA capacity held by VISA participants.
Combination U.S.-flag/foreign-flag vessel capacity
operated by non-participants.
U.S.-owned or operated foreign-flag vessel capacity and
VSA capacity held by VISA participants.
U.S.-owned or operated foreign-flag vessel capacity and
VSA capacity held by non-participants.
Foreign-owned or operated foreign-flag vessel capacity of
non-participants.
[[Page 43985]]
Participants
Any U.S.-Flag Vessel Operator organized under the laws of a state
of the United States, or the District of Columbia, who is able and
willing to commit militarily useful sealift assets and assume the
related consequential risks of commercial disruption, may be eligible
to participate in the VISA program. While vessel brokers and agents
play an important role as a conduit to locate and secure appropriate
vessels for the carriage of DoD cargo, they may not become participants
in the VISA program due to lack of requisite vessel ownership or
operation. Brokers and agents should encourage the carriers they
represent, however, to join the program.
Commitment
Any U.S.-Flag Vessel Operator desiring to receive preference in the
award of DoD peacetime contracts must commit no less than 50 percent of
its total U.S.-flag militarily useful capacity in Stage III of the VISA
program. A participant desiring to bid on DoD peacetime contracts will
be required to provide commitment levels to meet DoD-established Stage
I and/or II minimum percentages of the participant's military useful,
oceangoing U.S-flag fleet capacity on an annual basis. The United
States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) and MARAD will coordinate to
ensure that the amount of sealift assets committed to Stages I and II
will not have an adverse national economic impact. To minimize domestic
commercial disruption, participants operating vessels in the domestic
Jones Act trades are not required to commit the capacity of those U.S.
domestic trading vessels to VISA Stages I and II. Overall VISA
commitment requirements are based on annual enrollment.
In order to protect a U.S.-Flag Vessel Operator's market share
during contingency activation, VISA allows participants to join with
other vessel operators in Carrier Coordination Agreements (CCA's) to
satisfy commercial or DoD requirements. VISA provides a defense against
antitrust laws in accordance with section 708 of the Defense Production
Act of 1950. CCA's must be submitted to MARAD for coordination with the
Department of Justice for approval, before they can be utilized.
Compensation
In addition to receiving priority in the award of DoD peacetime
cargo, compensation during contingency activation provides multiple
methodologies that each participant may choose during enrollment which
are commensurate with risk and service provided. The rate methodology
determinations for liners and charters are undergoing development, but
will be available for use at the commencement of the FY 1999 VISA
participation period.
Enrollment
Immediately following publication of this Notice, current VISA
participants will receive a re-enrollment package from the Director,
Office of Sealift Support, which will also include VISA Stage III
capacity calculation worksheets to review and approve. These documents
must be returned to MARAD no later than August 31, 1998, to allow
processing time for the October 1, 1998, commencement date of the FY
1999 VISA participation period.
New applicants may enroll by obtaining a VISA application package
from the Director, Office of Sealift Support. The application package
will include the February 13, 1997 VISA Agreement, instructions for
completing and submitting the application, blank VISA Application
forms, and a request for information regarding the operations and U.S.
citizenship of the applicant in order to assist MARAD in making a
determination of the applicant's eligibility. An applicant must be able
to provide an affidavit that demonstrates that it is at least a citizen
of the United States, for purposes of vessel documentation, within the
meaning of 46 U.S.C., section 12102, and that it owns, or bareboat
charters and controls, oceangoing, militarily useful vessel(s) for
purposes of committing assets to VISA. New VISA applicants must return
completed FY 1999 VISA application documents to MARAD not later than
August 31, 1998. Once MARAD has reviewed the application and determined
VISA eligibility, MARAD will sign the VISA application document which
completes the eligibility phase of the VISA enrollment process;
however, the applicant is not yet a VISA participant, due to the
remaining requirement to enter into contingency contracts with DoD.
For the FY 1999 VISA open season, and prior to being re-enrolled in
VISA, all current VISA participants and eligible new VISA applicants
will be required to execute a joint Voluntary Enrollment Contract (VEC)
with the DoD [Military Traffic Management Command (MTMC) and Military
Sealift Command (MSC)] which will specify the participant's Stage III
commitment for FY 1999. Once the VEC is completed, the applicant
completes the DoD contracting process by executing a Drytime
Contingency Contract (DCC) with MSC (for Charter Operators) and/or as
applicable, a VISA Contingency Contract (VCC) with MTMC (for Liner
Operators). Once the DoD contingency contract(s) are completed, the
Maritime Administrator will confirm the participant's enrollment/re-
enrollment by letter agreement, with a copy to all appropriate parties.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND APPLICATIONS CONTACT: Raymond Barberesi,
Director, Office of Sealift Support, U.S. Maritime Administration, Room
7307, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone (202)
366-2323. Fax (202) 493-2180. The full text of this Federal Register
Notice and other information about the VISA can be found on MARAD's
Internet Web Page at http://www.marad.dot.gov.
By Order of the Maritime Administrator.
Dated: August 13, 1998.
Joel C. Richard,
Secretary, Maritime Administration.
[FR Doc. 98-22127 Filed 8-14-98; 8:45 am]
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