Bookmark and Share
Overview:
The Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an agency within the Department of Transportation responsible for all waterborne transportation. MARAD’s programs include facilitating use of waterborne transportation and overseeing its integration with other segments of the transportation industry. The agency is responsible for the US merchant marine and works to make sure American ships, ports, environment, safety and national security are protected. The Maritime Administration maintains a fleet of cargo ships to provide surge sealift during war and national emergencies (the National Defense Reserve Fleet, or NDRF), and it helps to dispose of non-combatant government ships as they become obsolete.
 
more
History:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The US Maritime Commission was an independent agency of the federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936. This replaced the US Shipping Board, which had existed before World War I and was intended to create a merchant shipbuilding program to design and build 500 modern merchant cargo ships to replace those used in WWI. Additionally, the agency was charged with administering a subsidy program to offset the costs of building ships in the United States. The act also formed the US Maritime Service for the training of seagoing officers to manage the new fleet.
 
The SS America was the first vessel commissioned under the new act, and it was owned and operated as a passenger cruiser between 1940 and 1941. When the US entered WWII, the SS America was requisitioned by the US Navy and became the USS West Point. During the war, an emergency shipbuilding program was launched, and the Maritime Commission’s shipbuilding program became known as Ships for Victory. Thousands of ships were built during the period between 1939 and 1945. In 1942, the training and licensing aspects of the shipping industry were transferred to the US Coast Guard. Later that same year, the Maritime Service was transferred to the newly created War Shipping Administration. 
 
When WWII ended, the emergency and long range shipbuilding programs were shut down. In 1946, the Merchant Ship Sales Act was passed so that the surfeit of ships could be sold off to commercial buyers. Many decimated fleets, such as those of Great Britain, Greece and Norway, were rebuilt this way. Ships not disposed of through the Ship Sales Act were placed into one of eight National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) sites maintained on the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coasts for use in national emergencies and humanitarian aid missions.
 
The last major mobilization of the NDRF came during the Vietnam War, and the last major shipbuilding project oversaw the design and construction of the super passenger liner SS United States, which could quickly be converted into the world’s fastest naval troop transport.
 
On May 24, 1950, the US Maritime Commission was abolished. Its functions were then split between the Maritime Board, which regulates shipping and awards subsidies for construction and operation of merchant vessels, and the Maritime Administration, which is responsible for administering subsidy programs, maintaining the National Defense Reserve Fleet and operating the US Merchant Marine Academy. 
 
In 1961, the Federal Maritime Board regulatory functions were assumed by the Federal Maritime Commission, which was created to help shape maritime policy. The subsidy functions were then assigned to the Maritime Subsidy Board of the Maritime Administration. 
 

In August of 1981, the Maritime Administration came under the control of the US Department of Transportation. This brought all transportation-related agencies under a single cabinet-level department.

 

 

more
What it Does:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) is responsible for administering financial programs to develop, promote and operate the US Maritime Service and the US Merchant Marine. The agency determines the services and routes necessary to develop and maintain American foreign commerce and conducts research and development activities in the maritime field. The agency regulates the transfer of US documented vessels to foreign registries, maintains equipment, shipyard facilities and reserve fleets for government-owned ships deemed essential for national defense.
 
MARAD Programs:
National Security assures that merchant shipping is available in time of war or national emergency. The National Security programs oversees the Maritime Security Program; Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement; National Defense Reserve Fleet; Ready Reserve Force; Foreign Transfer; and NATO and the Planning Board for Ocean Shipping.
 
Financial Approvals and Cargo Preference monitors the administration of and compliance with US cargo preference laws and regulations by federal agencies. Programs include the Ship Operations Cooperative Program; Cargo Preference; and Financial and Rate Approvals.
 
Shipbuilding supports a shipbuilding industrial base for national security objectives and promotes a self-sufficient internationally competitive industry. MARAD operates programs covering Title XI Financing; the National Maritime Resource and Education Center; Capital Construction Fund; and Construction Reserve Fund.
 
 
International Activities is charged primarily with enforcing bilateral relations and agreements. These include:
·         Memorandum of Consultations with China  (PDF)
·         Memorandum of Consultation with Japan (PDF)
 
Also, MARAD operates the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY, and administers a Grant-In-Aid programs for state-operated maritime academies: California Maritime Academy; Maine Maritime Academy; Massachusetts Maritime Academy; Great Lakes Maritime Academy; SUNY Maritime Academy; and Texas Maritime Academy.

Students who receive training & education through maritime academies can graduate with a Coast Guard license (either mate or engineer) and may become commissioned reserve officers in any branch of the service when they graduate from the Merchant Marine Academy or receive a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship from one of the other maritime schools.           
 
The Maritime Administration also oversees shipbuilding subsidies through the Maritime Subsidy Board. The board negotiates contracts for ship construction and grants operating-differential subsidies to shipping companies.
 

Under the

Maritime Security Program (MSP)

, the Maritime Administrator is vested with the residual powers of the Director of the National Shipping Authority, which organizes and directs emergency merchant marine operations. This program authorizes MARAD to enter into contracts with US-flag commercial ship owners to provide service during times of war or national emergencies.

  

 

more
Where Does the Money Go:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Maritime Administration spent nearly $3.06 billion on 2,807 contractors this decade. According to USASpending.gov, MARAD paid for a variety of services, from salvaging services to lease and rental of facilities.
 
The top 10 recipients of MARAD contracts were:
Crowley Maritime Corporation
$888,334,346
Saltchuk Resources, Inc.
$499,143,560
Chas Kurz & Co., Inc.
$357,539,369
Pacific-Gulf Marine, Inc.
$240,780,279
General Dynamics Corporation
$230,268,130
Patriot Contract Services, LLC
$164,218,752
Ocean Duchess, Inc.
$51,671,052
Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.
$41,018,411
Stanley, Inc.
$37,165,357
Veridyne, Inc.
$36,333,401
                                                 
Crowley Maritime Corporation, MARAD’s largest contractor, is a company providing diversified transportation services in domestic and international markets using liner services, logistics, energy support, ocean towing and transportation, petroleum and chemical transportation, fuel sales and distribution, ship assist and escort, salvage and emergency response, vessel construction and naval architecture, and ship management.
 

Saltchuk Resources, Inc

, MARAD’s second largest contractor, operates on the Pacific Rim in North America and offers a variety of transportation services through air cargo, maritime transportation, Marine resources, real estate and petroleum distribution.

 

more
Controversies:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dubai Ports Controversy
In February 2006, it came to light that port management businesses in six major American seaports had been sold to a company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This caused an immediate and intense debate about whether this would compromise national security as a result. The purchasing company was DP World, a company controlled by the royal family of Dubai. Personal ties between the Bush Administration and DP World included the appointment of David C. Sanborn to the Maritime Administration. Previous to his appointment, Sanborn had worked for Dubai Ports World (DP World). The sale of port management businesses in these six ports was approved by the executive branch of the US government in March of 2006.
DP World and U.S. Port Security (by Randall Beisecker, NTI)
The DP World Controversy and the Ongoing Vulnerability of U.S. Seaports (by Stephen E. Flynn, Council on Foreign Relations)
 
6 Ships Abandoned by Maritime Administration Contractor
In 2007, several news sources reported that six ships from the James River Reserve Fleet were in limbo after a Maryland salvage yard that was supposed to scrap them abruptly closed. This left behind two of Virginia’s “ghost fleet” ships and opened potential environmental risks of oil spills since both ships were built during WWII. The contracts were terminated, although the owners of the company could not be found. In July 2008, the Maritime Administration managed to finally sell the two ships for a total of $2.6 million.
Floating scrap worth millions (by Patrick Lynch, Newport News Daily Press)

Shipyard Closes, Leaves “Ghost Fleet” Ships in Limbo

(MarineLink)

 

more

Comments

Leave a comment

Founded: 1950
Annual Budget: $433.4 million (2009)
Employees: 760
Official Website: http://www.marad.dot.gov/
Maritime Administration
Buzby, Mark
Administrator

Mark H. Buzby, a retired U.S. Navy admiral, became the new administrator of the Maritime Administration (MARAD), having been confirmed by a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on August 3, 2017. Located in the Department of Transportation, MARAD is responsible for waterborne transportation, including facilitating its use and overseeing its integration with other segments of the transportation system. The agency is responsible for the U.S. merchant marine and works to make sure American ships, ports, environment, safety and national security are protected. Buzby succeeds Paul N. “Chip” Jaenichen Sr., who served in the job starting in October 2013.

 

Born October 6, 1956, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Mark Howard Buzby grew up in the historic Dennis Hotel (now Bally’s Atlantic City), which his family had owned since 1867. His father, Walter J. Buzby II, was the third generation Buzby to run the hotel. His mother, Aino Buzby, grew up on a farm in Estonia, but escaped when Soviet troops invaded and then a year in a German forced-labor camp before ending up in Canada about five years after the end of World War II. His parents met in the Bahamas in 1954.

 

Buzby graduated Admiral Farragut Academy, a military-style college prep school in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1975, which was also the year the family lost the hotel to bankruptcy.

 

Buzby earned a B.S. in Nautical Science, as well as a Coast Guard Third Mate License, at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kingsport, New York. He is a graduate of the Joint Forces Staff College and in 1991 earned concurrent master’s degrees at the U.S. Naval War College and Salve Regina University in Strategic Studies and International Relations, respectively.

 

Commissioned in the Navy as a surface warfare officer in June 1979, Buzby served 34 years before retiring in May 2013 at the rank of rear admiral. Over the years, he served aboard numerous cruisers and destroyers including USS Connole, USS Aries, USS Yorktown, and USS Shiloh. Buzby commanded the destroyer USS Carney during its first Persian Gulf deployment.

 

During the Kosovo crisis of 1998-1999, Buzby, as U.S. 6th Fleet assistant operations officer, participated in combat operations as part of NATO’s Operation Allied Force. He was then commander of Destroyer Squadron 31 during two deployments supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Ashore, Buzby has served on the Navy staff as the Point Defense Anti-Air Warfare section head for Surface Warfare Division and as Aegis Combat System development officer. As a flag officer, Buzby has served on the Navy staff as deputy for Surface Ships, deputy for Surface Warfare and deputy for Expeditionary Warfare. As a captain, until 2004, he was commanding officer of the Surface Warfare Officers School Command. In 2005, he was promoted to rear admiral.

 

In May 2007, Buzby was put in charge of the prison camps at Guantánamo Bay. A few days later, a Saudi prisoner committed suicide by hanging himself. Another 24 prisoners were on a hunger strike. In July, Buzby announced that conditions for the remaining prisoners would be improved to promote “increased mental stimulation,” such as improved recreation facilities and a weekly movie night for well-behaved prisoners. He also changed the policy of overwriting surveillance video recordings at Guantánamo. It also fell to Buzby to acknowledge for the first time the existence of a secret high-security section of the Guantánamo prison, Camp 7, that held 15 alleged senior al Qaeda captives.

 

Speaking to a Veterans of Foreign Wars Conference in March 2008, Buzby warned that torture leads to false confessions, and that more useful information could be obtained from prisoners by “just sitting down and having a conversation and treating them like human beings in a businesslike manner.” He later said, “We use the Subway sandwich and the Big Mac.”

 

Buzby remained in this position until May 27, 2008, when he was made deputy chief of staff for Global Force Management and Joint Force Operations at U.S. Fleet Forces Command. On October 16, 2009, he became commander of the Navy’s Military Sealift Command, which consisted of 112 non-combatant ships with civilian crews. He remained in position until his retirement on May 10, 2013.

 

After leaving the Navy, Buzby became president of the National Defense Transportation Association in November 2014. He also serves on the board of directors for Northeast Ship Repair, Admiral Farragut Academy, and the United Seaman’s Service. He is also a member of the Safety and Reliability Review Board for Carnival Cruise Lines.

 

Mark Buzby and his wife, Gina, reside in Norfolk, Virginia. A lifelong yachtsman, Buzby owns a Grand Banks Eastbay 43 “NOR’EASTER” yacht that he sails all around Chesapeake Bay.

-Matt Bewig, David Wallechinsky

 

To Learn More:

Official Biography

Adm. Mark Buzby Nominated as Next Maritime Administrator (Maritime Executive)

Outdated Infrastructure Poses National Security Risk (by Mark H. Buzby, The Hill)

Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby Retires After 34-Year Career (Maritime Executive)

Interview with Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby: The State of U.S. Sealift (by J.R. Wilson, Defense Media Network)

more
Jaenichen, Chip
Previous Administrator

Acting head of the Maritime Administration Paul N. (Chip) Jaenichen Sr. was nominated as permanent administrator on September 10, 2013, by President Barack Obama. In that post, Jaenichen is responsible for overseeing the Department of Transportation’s efforts to promote water transportation and the viability of the U.S. Merchant Marine.

 

Jaenichen is from Brandenburg, Kentucky. Both of his parents served in the Army. He graduated from Meade County High School in 1978. He accepted an appointment to the United States Naval Academy, from where he graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in ocean engineering. He subsequently earned a master’s degree in engineering management from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

 

Most of Jaenichen’s 30-year Navy career was spent in submarines. He served on the USS Skipjack, the USS Oklahoma City, the USS Baton Rouge (SSN 689) and the USS Key West. From 1994 to 1996, he was executive officer on the USS Kentucky. In September 1999 Jaenichen was selected as captain of the USS Albany, a fast-attack submarine, where he served for almost three years. From 2005 to 2007, Jaenichen was chief of the Western/Eastern Europe and North Atlantic Treaty Organization Divisions on the Strategic Plans and Policy Joint Staff.  In April 2007, Jaenichen was appointed commander of Submarine Squadron 11, based in San Diego, in which post he served until September 2008. He then served two years as director of submarine/nuclear power distribution, overseeing 4,500 submarine officers and aviators. His last posting, from October 2010 to May 2012, was as deputy chief of legislative affairs for the Department of the Navy.

 

After retiring from the Navy, Jaenichen in July 2012 was appointed deputy maritime administrator. The following June, he was appointed acting administrator after the departure of David Matsuda.

 

In 1989, Jaenichen was issued a patent, which was assigned to the Navy, for a “phase control mechanism for wave energy conversion.”

 

Jaenichen lives in Bowie, Maryland, with his wife Paula, a retired teacher. They have two children: daughter Rachel, a high school English teacher, and son Nathan, like his father an Annapolis graduate, who is a Marine aviator.

-Steve Straehley, David Wallechinsky

 

Official Biography

Tribute to Chip Jaenichen by Sen. Mitch McConnell

more
Bookmark and Share
Overview:
The Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an agency within the Department of Transportation responsible for all waterborne transportation. MARAD’s programs include facilitating use of waterborne transportation and overseeing its integration with other segments of the transportation industry. The agency is responsible for the US merchant marine and works to make sure American ships, ports, environment, safety and national security are protected. The Maritime Administration maintains a fleet of cargo ships to provide surge sealift during war and national emergencies (the National Defense Reserve Fleet, or NDRF), and it helps to dispose of non-combatant government ships as they become obsolete.
 
more
History:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The US Maritime Commission was an independent agency of the federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936. This replaced the US Shipping Board, which had existed before World War I and was intended to create a merchant shipbuilding program to design and build 500 modern merchant cargo ships to replace those used in WWI. Additionally, the agency was charged with administering a subsidy program to offset the costs of building ships in the United States. The act also formed the US Maritime Service for the training of seagoing officers to manage the new fleet.
 
The SS America was the first vessel commissioned under the new act, and it was owned and operated as a passenger cruiser between 1940 and 1941. When the US entered WWII, the SS America was requisitioned by the US Navy and became the USS West Point. During the war, an emergency shipbuilding program was launched, and the Maritime Commission’s shipbuilding program became known as Ships for Victory. Thousands of ships were built during the period between 1939 and 1945. In 1942, the training and licensing aspects of the shipping industry were transferred to the US Coast Guard. Later that same year, the Maritime Service was transferred to the newly created War Shipping Administration. 
 
When WWII ended, the emergency and long range shipbuilding programs were shut down. In 1946, the Merchant Ship Sales Act was passed so that the surfeit of ships could be sold off to commercial buyers. Many decimated fleets, such as those of Great Britain, Greece and Norway, were rebuilt this way. Ships not disposed of through the Ship Sales Act were placed into one of eight National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) sites maintained on the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coasts for use in national emergencies and humanitarian aid missions.
 
The last major mobilization of the NDRF came during the Vietnam War, and the last major shipbuilding project oversaw the design and construction of the super passenger liner SS United States, which could quickly be converted into the world’s fastest naval troop transport.
 
On May 24, 1950, the US Maritime Commission was abolished. Its functions were then split between the Maritime Board, which regulates shipping and awards subsidies for construction and operation of merchant vessels, and the Maritime Administration, which is responsible for administering subsidy programs, maintaining the National Defense Reserve Fleet and operating the US Merchant Marine Academy. 
 
In 1961, the Federal Maritime Board regulatory functions were assumed by the Federal Maritime Commission, which was created to help shape maritime policy. The subsidy functions were then assigned to the Maritime Subsidy Board of the Maritime Administration. 
 

In August of 1981, the Maritime Administration came under the control of the US Department of Transportation. This brought all transportation-related agencies under a single cabinet-level department.

 

 

more
What it Does:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) is responsible for administering financial programs to develop, promote and operate the US Maritime Service and the US Merchant Marine. The agency determines the services and routes necessary to develop and maintain American foreign commerce and conducts research and development activities in the maritime field. The agency regulates the transfer of US documented vessels to foreign registries, maintains equipment, shipyard facilities and reserve fleets for government-owned ships deemed essential for national defense.
 
MARAD Programs:
National Security assures that merchant shipping is available in time of war or national emergency. The National Security programs oversees the Maritime Security Program; Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement; National Defense Reserve Fleet; Ready Reserve Force; Foreign Transfer; and NATO and the Planning Board for Ocean Shipping.
 
Financial Approvals and Cargo Preference monitors the administration of and compliance with US cargo preference laws and regulations by federal agencies. Programs include the Ship Operations Cooperative Program; Cargo Preference; and Financial and Rate Approvals.
 
Shipbuilding supports a shipbuilding industrial base for national security objectives and promotes a self-sufficient internationally competitive industry. MARAD operates programs covering Title XI Financing; the National Maritime Resource and Education Center; Capital Construction Fund; and Construction Reserve Fund.
 
 
International Activities is charged primarily with enforcing bilateral relations and agreements. These include:
·         Memorandum of Consultations with China  (PDF)
·         Memorandum of Consultation with Japan (PDF)
 
Also, MARAD operates the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY, and administers a Grant-In-Aid programs for state-operated maritime academies: California Maritime Academy; Maine Maritime Academy; Massachusetts Maritime Academy; Great Lakes Maritime Academy; SUNY Maritime Academy; and Texas Maritime Academy.

Students who receive training & education through maritime academies can graduate with a Coast Guard license (either mate or engineer) and may become commissioned reserve officers in any branch of the service when they graduate from the Merchant Marine Academy or receive a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship from one of the other maritime schools.           
 
The Maritime Administration also oversees shipbuilding subsidies through the Maritime Subsidy Board. The board negotiates contracts for ship construction and grants operating-differential subsidies to shipping companies.
 

Under the

Maritime Security Program (MSP)

, the Maritime Administrator is vested with the residual powers of the Director of the National Shipping Authority, which organizes and directs emergency merchant marine operations. This program authorizes MARAD to enter into contracts with US-flag commercial ship owners to provide service during times of war or national emergencies.

  

 

more
Where Does the Money Go:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Maritime Administration spent nearly $3.06 billion on 2,807 contractors this decade. According to USASpending.gov, MARAD paid for a variety of services, from salvaging services to lease and rental of facilities.
 
The top 10 recipients of MARAD contracts were:
Crowley Maritime Corporation
$888,334,346
Saltchuk Resources, Inc.
$499,143,560
Chas Kurz & Co., Inc.
$357,539,369
Pacific-Gulf Marine, Inc.
$240,780,279
General Dynamics Corporation
$230,268,130
Patriot Contract Services, LLC
$164,218,752
Ocean Duchess, Inc.
$51,671,052
Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.
$41,018,411
Stanley, Inc.
$37,165,357
Veridyne, Inc.
$36,333,401
                                                 
Crowley Maritime Corporation, MARAD’s largest contractor, is a company providing diversified transportation services in domestic and international markets using liner services, logistics, energy support, ocean towing and transportation, petroleum and chemical transportation, fuel sales and distribution, ship assist and escort, salvage and emergency response, vessel construction and naval architecture, and ship management.
 

Saltchuk Resources, Inc

, MARAD’s second largest contractor, operates on the Pacific Rim in North America and offers a variety of transportation services through air cargo, maritime transportation, Marine resources, real estate and petroleum distribution.

 

more
Controversies:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dubai Ports Controversy
In February 2006, it came to light that port management businesses in six major American seaports had been sold to a company based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This caused an immediate and intense debate about whether this would compromise national security as a result. The purchasing company was DP World, a company controlled by the royal family of Dubai. Personal ties between the Bush Administration and DP World included the appointment of David C. Sanborn to the Maritime Administration. Previous to his appointment, Sanborn had worked for Dubai Ports World (DP World). The sale of port management businesses in these six ports was approved by the executive branch of the US government in March of 2006.
DP World and U.S. Port Security (by Randall Beisecker, NTI)
The DP World Controversy and the Ongoing Vulnerability of U.S. Seaports (by Stephen E. Flynn, Council on Foreign Relations)
 
6 Ships Abandoned by Maritime Administration Contractor
In 2007, several news sources reported that six ships from the James River Reserve Fleet were in limbo after a Maryland salvage yard that was supposed to scrap them abruptly closed. This left behind two of Virginia’s “ghost fleet” ships and opened potential environmental risks of oil spills since both ships were built during WWII. The contracts were terminated, although the owners of the company could not be found. In July 2008, the Maritime Administration managed to finally sell the two ships for a total of $2.6 million.
Floating scrap worth millions (by Patrick Lynch, Newport News Daily Press)

Shipyard Closes, Leaves “Ghost Fleet” Ships in Limbo

(MarineLink)

 

more

Comments

Leave a comment

Founded: 1950
Annual Budget: $433.4 million (2009)
Employees: 760
Official Website: http://www.marad.dot.gov/
Maritime Administration
Buzby, Mark
Administrator

Mark H. Buzby, a retired U.S. Navy admiral, became the new administrator of the Maritime Administration (MARAD), having been confirmed by a voice vote of the U.S. Senate on August 3, 2017. Located in the Department of Transportation, MARAD is responsible for waterborne transportation, including facilitating its use and overseeing its integration with other segments of the transportation system. The agency is responsible for the U.S. merchant marine and works to make sure American ships, ports, environment, safety and national security are protected. Buzby succeeds Paul N. “Chip” Jaenichen Sr., who served in the job starting in October 2013.

 

Born October 6, 1956, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Mark Howard Buzby grew up in the historic Dennis Hotel (now Bally’s Atlantic City), which his family had owned since 1867. His father, Walter J. Buzby II, was the third generation Buzby to run the hotel. His mother, Aino Buzby, grew up on a farm in Estonia, but escaped when Soviet troops invaded and then a year in a German forced-labor camp before ending up in Canada about five years after the end of World War II. His parents met in the Bahamas in 1954.

 

Buzby graduated Admiral Farragut Academy, a military-style college prep school in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1975, which was also the year the family lost the hotel to bankruptcy.

 

Buzby earned a B.S. in Nautical Science, as well as a Coast Guard Third Mate License, at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kingsport, New York. He is a graduate of the Joint Forces Staff College and in 1991 earned concurrent master’s degrees at the U.S. Naval War College and Salve Regina University in Strategic Studies and International Relations, respectively.

 

Commissioned in the Navy as a surface warfare officer in June 1979, Buzby served 34 years before retiring in May 2013 at the rank of rear admiral. Over the years, he served aboard numerous cruisers and destroyers including USS Connole, USS Aries, USS Yorktown, and USS Shiloh. Buzby commanded the destroyer USS Carney during its first Persian Gulf deployment.

 

During the Kosovo crisis of 1998-1999, Buzby, as U.S. 6th Fleet assistant operations officer, participated in combat operations as part of NATO’s Operation Allied Force. He was then commander of Destroyer Squadron 31 during two deployments supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Ashore, Buzby has served on the Navy staff as the Point Defense Anti-Air Warfare section head for Surface Warfare Division and as Aegis Combat System development officer. As a flag officer, Buzby has served on the Navy staff as deputy for Surface Ships, deputy for Surface Warfare and deputy for Expeditionary Warfare. As a captain, until 2004, he was commanding officer of the Surface Warfare Officers School Command. In 2005, he was promoted to rear admiral.

 

In May 2007, Buzby was put in charge of the prison camps at Guantánamo Bay. A few days later, a Saudi prisoner committed suicide by hanging himself. Another 24 prisoners were on a hunger strike. In July, Buzby announced that conditions for the remaining prisoners would be improved to promote “increased mental stimulation,” such as improved recreation facilities and a weekly movie night for well-behaved prisoners. He also changed the policy of overwriting surveillance video recordings at Guantánamo. It also fell to Buzby to acknowledge for the first time the existence of a secret high-security section of the Guantánamo prison, Camp 7, that held 15 alleged senior al Qaeda captives.

 

Speaking to a Veterans of Foreign Wars Conference in March 2008, Buzby warned that torture leads to false confessions, and that more useful information could be obtained from prisoners by “just sitting down and having a conversation and treating them like human beings in a businesslike manner.” He later said, “We use the Subway sandwich and the Big Mac.”

 

Buzby remained in this position until May 27, 2008, when he was made deputy chief of staff for Global Force Management and Joint Force Operations at U.S. Fleet Forces Command. On October 16, 2009, he became commander of the Navy’s Military Sealift Command, which consisted of 112 non-combatant ships with civilian crews. He remained in position until his retirement on May 10, 2013.

 

After leaving the Navy, Buzby became president of the National Defense Transportation Association in November 2014. He also serves on the board of directors for Northeast Ship Repair, Admiral Farragut Academy, and the United Seaman’s Service. He is also a member of the Safety and Reliability Review Board for Carnival Cruise Lines.

 

Mark Buzby and his wife, Gina, reside in Norfolk, Virginia. A lifelong yachtsman, Buzby owns a Grand Banks Eastbay 43 “NOR’EASTER” yacht that he sails all around Chesapeake Bay.

-Matt Bewig, David Wallechinsky

 

To Learn More:

Official Biography

Adm. Mark Buzby Nominated as Next Maritime Administrator (Maritime Executive)

Outdated Infrastructure Poses National Security Risk (by Mark H. Buzby, The Hill)

Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby Retires After 34-Year Career (Maritime Executive)

Interview with Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby: The State of U.S. Sealift (by J.R. Wilson, Defense Media Network)

more
Jaenichen, Chip
Previous Administrator

Acting head of the Maritime Administration Paul N. (Chip) Jaenichen Sr. was nominated as permanent administrator on September 10, 2013, by President Barack Obama. In that post, Jaenichen is responsible for overseeing the Department of Transportation’s efforts to promote water transportation and the viability of the U.S. Merchant Marine.

 

Jaenichen is from Brandenburg, Kentucky. Both of his parents served in the Army. He graduated from Meade County High School in 1978. He accepted an appointment to the United States Naval Academy, from where he graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in ocean engineering. He subsequently earned a master’s degree in engineering management from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

 

Most of Jaenichen’s 30-year Navy career was spent in submarines. He served on the USS Skipjack, the USS Oklahoma City, the USS Baton Rouge (SSN 689) and the USS Key West. From 1994 to 1996, he was executive officer on the USS Kentucky. In September 1999 Jaenichen was selected as captain of the USS Albany, a fast-attack submarine, where he served for almost three years. From 2005 to 2007, Jaenichen was chief of the Western/Eastern Europe and North Atlantic Treaty Organization Divisions on the Strategic Plans and Policy Joint Staff.  In April 2007, Jaenichen was appointed commander of Submarine Squadron 11, based in San Diego, in which post he served until September 2008. He then served two years as director of submarine/nuclear power distribution, overseeing 4,500 submarine officers and aviators. His last posting, from October 2010 to May 2012, was as deputy chief of legislative affairs for the Department of the Navy.

 

After retiring from the Navy, Jaenichen in July 2012 was appointed deputy maritime administrator. The following June, he was appointed acting administrator after the departure of David Matsuda.

 

In 1989, Jaenichen was issued a patent, which was assigned to the Navy, for a “phase control mechanism for wave energy conversion.”

 

Jaenichen lives in Bowie, Maryland, with his wife Paula, a retired teacher. They have two children: daughter Rachel, a high school English teacher, and son Nathan, like his father an Annapolis graduate, who is a Marine aviator.

-Steve Straehley, David Wallechinsky

 

Official Biography

Tribute to Chip Jaenichen by Sen. Mitch McConnell

more