We are writing today to urge Congress to take immediate and positive action to increase the number of commercial vessels operating under the U.S.-flag in order to increase the shipboard employment opportunities for American mariners. Absent such action, we as a nation will not only experience the continued outsourcing of American maritime jobs to the benefit of foreign maritime personnel but will also be forced to entrust a greater portion of the requisite commercial sealift readiness capability needed by the Department of Defense, along with the safety and supply of American troops, to foreign flag of convenience vessels and their foreign citizen crews. Read more. (
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