seriously, whether this affects marine education, 
and, if so, what can and should be done. If there 
indeed is a deterioration in laboratory equipment, an 
erosion in support for basic research (in inflation- 
corrected dollars), and other shortcomings, the qual- 
ity of education as well as research can be expected 
to decline in the years ahead. Critics of more spend- 
ing are likely to emphasize the fact that hard evi- 
dence of such a decline is lacking, whereas educators 
are likely to maintain that because research is closely 
linked to graduate education, a decline in the one 
will affecutherother mana mr. yng 
The marine education community will continue 
to discuss issues related to university teaching: issues 
such as the balance between teaching and research, 
how to make today’s diverse marine science programs 
more compatible so that students can move easily 
from one to another, and how best to teach marine 
affairs. These are essentially issues of university 
operation, not Federal. policy. However, one can ex- 
pect proponents of one viewpoint or another occa- 
sionally to appeal to Federal agencies for action 
related to these matters. 
The employment data question will continue to be 
debated. Proponents of more data collection and 
analysis will argue that better information is vital if 
the Federal Government is to know where current 
and future marine personnel needs are. Critics of 
new efforts may argue that they are unnecessary, 
given the lack of any major marine employment 
problems, and unfeasible, largely because no one can 
reliably predict future needs in this diverse and fast- 
changing field. 
The interagency coordination issue also will con- 
tinue, though probably at a low level. Critics of more 
coordination procedures will point to the present in- 
formal coordination and to statutes which define 
each agency’s specific role and seem to prevent un- 
desirable overlap and duplication. They also will 
ask what improvements greater coordination would 
make. 
Maritime Officer Training 
For many years the Federal Government has 
played a significant role in the training of deck and 
engineering officers for the U.S. merchant marine, 
though even today Federal and Federally supported 
schools supply only part of the Nation’s maritime 
officers. The Federal Government also licenses all 
merchant marine officers. 
Providing Federally supported training and licens- 
ing personnel are seen as important to the efficiency 
and safety of the merchant marine during peacetime 
and to its viability during war or other national 
emergencies. Maritime education programs are ad- 
ministered by the Department of Commerce’s Mari- 
time Administration (MarAd). The licensing func- 
tions are carried out by the Coast Guard with the 
Department of Transportation. 
Present Federal Policy 
Four main policy objectives guide the Federal 
Government’s maritime officer programs. One is to 
ensure that the Nation has sufficient numbers of 
trained officers to meet national defense requirements 
and to promote commerce. Second, for safety reasons 
the Government licenses maritime officers and deter- 
mines the minimum number each ship must have. 
Third however, Federal programs avoid directing the 
merchant marine about which particular personnel 
to hire and under what circumstances. Finally, the 
Government also has left considerable autonomy to 
the Federally supported State merchant marine acad- 
emies, which train many of the Nation’s officers. 
MarAd helps set basic curriculum standards for the 
schools and influences enrollment levels by setting 
the number of students who receive Federal subsidies. 
But the schools receive funding from a number of 
sources and have great autonomy in deciding how 
many students to train. 
The Federal policy of ensuring sufficient numbers 
of maritime officers has its origins in the Merchant 
Marine Act of 1936 (46 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). Section 
101 of the Act is the declaration of policy. In part, it 
says this: 
“It is necessary for the national defense 
and development of its foreign and domes- 
tic commerce that the United States shall 
have a merchant marine . . . composed of 
the best-equipped, safest, and most suitable 
types of vessels, constructed in the United 
States and manned with a trained and effi- 
cient citizen personnel .. .” 
Section 216, which deals with personnel in more 
detail, was added to the Act in 1938. Subsection (a) 
authorizes and directs the Secretary of Commerce 
“to establish and maintain the United States Mari- 
time Service as a voluntary organization for the train- 
ing of citizens of the United States to serve. as li- 
censed and unlicensed personnel on American 
merchant vessels.” Operating as a large training or- 
ganization during and after World War II, the Mari- 
time Service became inactive during the 1950s, 
as personnel needs shrank as the size of the U.S. 
VIII-15 
