Permission Sought

Aquarius seeks Maritime Subsidy Board OK Aquarius Marine Co. and Atlas Marine Co. have asked the Maritime Subsidy Board for contractual authority to use operating- differential subsidy (ODS) which has been available but not used under two subsidy contracts. The vessels covered under these contracts were the American Heritage, Golden Monarch and Charleston, under a subsidy-sharing arrangement.

The companies request each contract be extended by four years, to expire October 15, 1999, and December 30, 2000. Subsidy would not be paid for more than 1,188 voyage days of operations in subsidized service during the additional term, under whichever of the two contracts such operations may take place. In the alternative Aquarius and Atlas request a new four-year ODS contract covering the operations of the Charleston. The applicants state the American Heritage, which entered subsidized service in 1976, was withdrawn, sold, and scrapped in 1994.

The Golden Monarch entered service in 1975. It was withdrawn, sold, and transferred to foreign registry earlier this year. The Charleston entered subsidized service in 1993.

In addition, the applicants advise that the American Heritage performed no subsidized service after June 5, 1993, and the Golden Monarch operated sometimes in and sometimes out of subsidized service after October 25, 1992. As a result, they say, the two vessels will have accumulated more than 2,500 voyage days of "unused subsidy." They further advise that allowing for the absorption of 1,370 of these unused days by subsidized operations of the Charleston, there still would remain 1,188 unused days of entitlement to subsidy. They are, therefore, proposing that the contracts be extended to enable them to absorb the 1,188 days by continuing the subsidized operation of the Charleston.

Companies seek ODS OK Margate Shipping Co. and Chestnut Shipping Co. have asked the Maritime Subsidy Board for contractual authority to use operating- differential subsidy (ODS), which has been available but not used under two subsidy contracts. The companies request each contract be extended by five years — or in the alternative, a new fiveyear ODS agreement — for the purpose of using the available unused days. In connection with their request, the applicants asked the board to extend the subsidizable lives on five vessels, so that the vessels would remain eligible to operate with ODS under the extended contracts, or new contracts, as the case may be. The vessels and extended dates are noted below. They include: Vessel Extended Date Coronado December 2 8 , 1 9 98 Cherry Volley July 1 0 , 1 9 99 Chelsea February 2 8 , 2 0 00 Chestnut Hill December I , 2 0 01 Kittanning March 1 , 2 0 02 Noble wants to transfer units to Panamanian registry Noble Offshore Corp., Houston, has asked permission from MarAd to transfer to Panamanian registry three mobile offshore drilling units. The units are the 4,816-gt Ed Holt; 4,783-gt Lloyd Noble; and the 4,469-gt Tommy Craighead.

The units were built in Brownsville, Texas, in 1984; in Vicksburg,Miss., in 1983; and in Pascagoula, Miss., in 1982, respectively.

Marmac asks to sell barge MarAd has received a request from Marmac Corporation, New Orleans, La., for permission to sell the 1,048-gt barge, U-730.

The proposed purchaser is Shimmer International Cameroon Limited, of West Africa.

The barge was built in 1976 in Braithwaite, La. If approved, the barge would be used for hauling general cargo in Cameroon, West Africa.