America’s energy industry is growing dramatically for the first time since domestic oil and natural gas production peaked in the 1970s. The U.S. is now the world’s largest producer of hydrocarbon liquids and natural gas, and production is expected to continue growing in the foreseeable future. Maritime transportation is a highly reliable method of delivering liquid hydrocarbons, which is second only to pipelines in terms of volume delivered.
Energy production growth has led the industry to transition away from large, foreign-flag, import tank vessels that spend a small portion of their transit in U.S. waters to significantly smaller vessels, making shorter, higher frequency trips, seldom leaving U.S. waters. The U.S. Energy Information Administration indicates the amount of domestic crude moving through our maritime transportation system (MTS) has grown more than 50 percent since 2008.
We have a vital role in America's energy renaissance within our MTS. Through our broad authorities, we set standards, ensure compliance, respond to incidents, and conduct investigations to ensure energy-related activities in the maritime environment are carried out in a safe, secure and environmentally responsible manner. The growing demands of the energy sector within the offshore, coastal, Great Lakes and inland maritime regions will require us to keep pace. To do so, we must maintain a highly trained workforce at our field-level units where most of this work occurs daily and at our headquarters where regulations and standards are developed.
The expansion of the energy sector, coupled with the austere budget environment, will make it challenging for us to maintain needed capacity and expertise within our workforce. However, we will continue working closely with our interagency partners and key stakeholders to ensure the safe and efficient movement of this critical commerce on America’s waterways.
Adm. Paul Zukunft, Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard