The 1970 Act also provided the use of the Title XI Mortgage Insurance 

 for a widely expanded area of commercial marine-related equipment. In 

 the past 12 months, some $322 million in privately placed vessel construc- 

 tion and mortgage loans have been guaranteed by the Government. This 

 amount is 46 percent higher than that for the preceding 12-month period 

 and represents the greatest volume of Title XI insurance activity since the 

 inception of the program in 1938. 



The mortgage commitments today are at the $1.3 billion level; an es- 

 timated $550 million is to be added in the year ahead. Without the addi- 

 tional $2 billion authorized by the 1970 Merchant Marine Act, this growth 

 would not have been possible. During the last year. Title XI financing of 

 large tug-barge systems and oflfshore drilling rigs was arranged for the first 

 time. It should be noted that in both of these areas the United States holds 

 a technological lead, and our maritime industry, by moving rapidly ahead, 

 will be in a position to maintain a significant worldwide advantage. 



An essential part of transportation considerations is harbor and channel 

 development, a $9 million program of investigations, engineering, and re- 

 search under the Corps of Engineers. It is part of a $309 million program of 

 designing, constructing, improving, and maintaining harbors and water- 

 ways. In the coming year, coordinated studies will be made for about 90 

 locacions to meet the needs of shipping, fishing, and recreational boating inter- 

 ests. Those of highest priority include regional navigation studies for the 

 northern Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts, with emphasis on very large bulk 

 carriers, and studies for extending the navigational season on the Great Lakes 

 (see below) and improving connecting waterways. 



The Maritime Administration research and development program was 

 greatly enlarged and redirected in 1971 to assist in rejuvenating the U.S. 

 merchant marine through techno'Iogical innovations in ships and ship opera- 

 tions. Programs initiated in 1971 and 1972 will be carried into more ad- 

 vanced phases in 1973. In the shipyards, automated hardware for welding, 

 steel-surface preparation and coating, material handling, and other opera- 

 tions will be developed and tested. Full-scale propulsion hardware will be 

 readied for testing at sea under service conditions. Development continues on 

 large cryogenic tanks to carry LNG and on ship design engineering for easy 

 and economical handling of bulk commodities such as coal or ore in slurry 

 form. 



Also continuing is the engineering development of satellite navigation and 

 communication systems and automated controls to improve the safety of 

 ship operations by preventing collisions, accidents, and ocean pollution 

 through catastrophic spills. Final tests of shipboard systems designed to pre- 

 vent ship-generated oil pollution and full-scale testing of advanced ocean- 

 going tug-barge systems have started. These projects are directed toward 

 decreasing capital and maintenance costs through improved shipyard opera- 

 tions, design of more productive ships, and more efficient ship and shipping 

 operations. 



The first research center in the United States devoted specifically to im- 

 proving commercial shipping operations was opened in 1971 at the Mari- 

 time Academy, Kings Point, N.Y. The principal functions of the National 

 Maritime Research Center are to carry out research programs for the Mari- 



90 



