US Maritime Crisis: Uncovering The Ghost Admiral Steering The US Government’s Most Secretive Agency
John Konrad April 25, 2023
by Captain John Konrad (OpEd) How can you help Cato dismantle the Jones Act and undermine American shipping? How can you subvert crucial US Navy shipbuilding subsidies? How can you obstruct $1.1 trillion of infrastructure bill funding from supporting ports and marine highways? How can you perpetuate the influx of Chinese goods arriving at US ports on Chinese vessels? Simply refuse to answer the phone.
When esteemed naval scholar Jerry Hendrix arrived at the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) headquarters in Washington to discuss his notable article for The Atlantic, he encountered locked doors and vigilant security guards. Likewise, when Forbes journalist Craig Hooper and I attempted to meet with Commandant Ann Phillips following her scarce appearance at a Navy conference, she was conspicuously absent. The Chief of Naval Operations, Commandant of the Marine Corps, and Commandant of the US Coast Guard remained to engage with the press, but Commandant Phillips – who some call the Ghost Admiral – seemingly vanished immediately after exiting the stage.
“I never got in to see her,” said Hendrix in a tweet. “I went to her office building and wasn’t allowed inside. I am still waiting for an appointment to get into the building. MARAD security is as tight as the Pentagon.”
Our response: don’t get your hopes up. Ann Phillips, the former US Navy Rear Admiral leading the nation’s most critical maritime organization and serving as Commandant of the US Maritime Service, is a ghost.
This is a crucial moment for shipping. The Jones Act faces fierce opposition. US ports struggle with insufficient funding. Shipyards are letting the Navy down. Wall Street funnels money into China’s shipping industry while American shipping languishes. European allies plead for LNG to address a dire energy crisis. US Merchant Ships confront threats and surveillance from Russian and Chinese warships. The UN asserts that world hunger hinges on maritime transportation.
MARAD has a pivotal responsibility in addressing these challenges, yet the ghost admiral remains conspicuously silent.
“MARAD employs more GS-15s and above than the number of US Merchant Marine ships in international service,” a former White House official revealed to gCaptain. “Many of them transition to lucrative positions in Jones Act lobby groups, earning hundreds of thousands per year.”
Global Energy Crisis Response
Phillips’ engagement has been even more limited. The few headlines she has made revolve around her evasive responses to Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s inquiries about LNG terminals during her confirmation hearings. Now, two and a half years into President Biden’s tenure, with the global demand for American LNG at a critical point, eight LNG terminal permits remain untouched on the Commandant’s desk.
Obtaining even basic information from MARAD can be a challenge. Official responses to simple inquiries often take weeks, and press releases are scarce (only four have been published this year).
“This is the most ineffective Commandant* we’ve ever encountered,” said a US shipping executive who asked to remain anonymous, fearing repercussions from Commandant Phillips. “She’s also the only MARAD Administrator in decades I haven’t had the privilege to meet in person.”
*Phillips holds the title of Commandant of the US Merchant Service, but MARAD tends to avoid using this term. They officially prefer “Administrator Phillips,” as the agency often opts for terminology that downplays their role.
Not only are LNG permits gathering dust, but other crucial matters also remain unaddressed. The US Navy urgently needs more ships, and it falls to MARAD – not the Navy – to provide subsidies for shipyards. However, MARAD hasn’t completed a shipyard survey, which Wall Street lenders need to evaluate loans, since 2004. The US Navy’s Military Sealift Command is in dire need of mariners, but MARAD has failed to complete a manpower survey since 2017. The US vessel inventory report, which used to be published monthly, has ceased to exist under Phillips’ tenure. Mariners depend on vital MARAD security updates to keep their ships safe, but Phillips’ organization delayed posting Black Sea updates for months following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (MARAD has only issued one security alert all year). When the updates finally arrived, they lacked the essential information that captains require to ensure their vessels’ safety.
Data And Statistics Have Gone Missing
The unfortunate reality is that obtaining classified information from an Air Force intelligence officer seems easier than getting a crucial statistic confirmed by MARAD. This is not solely because MARAD officials are tight-lipped, but also because the organization has neglected to provide many of the basic statistics that journalists rely on. Even a few of the products that have previously earned praise for MARAD, such as Shashi Kumar’s US Naval Institute annual review of shipping, have been notably lacking in detail and uninspiring this year.
Despite ample funding, MARAD’s public affairs officer (PAO) position, a well-compensated GS-15 level role with a six-year salary, has often been left vacant or filled by short-term appointees. After Admiral Buzby’s departure, MARAD recruited a highly-regarded US Air Force PAO, who stayed for less than a year. Sources within MARAD told gCaptain that she left due to frustration. A senior MARAD official revealed to gCaptain that every media release requires Phillips’ approval, and Phillips hesitates to release information without Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s personal endorsement. Buttigieg has shown little interest in maritime affairs. Although he is an active presence on social media with daily tweets to millions of followers, gCaptain has been unable to find a single tweet mentioning Phillips during his entire tenure.
More:
https://gcaptain.com/us-maritime-crisis-uncovering-the-ghost-admiral-steering-the-us-governments-most-secretive-agency/