Kelly Hayes
The Florida Maritime Partnership is celebrating Maritime Day on Saturday, after Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a proclamation earlier this week recognizing the holiday.
Maritime Day was established to honor the men and women who serve in the U.S. Merchant Marine, as well as remember the mariners who lost their lives in serving the country.
The U.S. Maritime Administration’s annual observance of Maritime Day, and the holiday was celebrated in a virtual event, the organization noted in a press release. The clip featured U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttgieg, Acting U.S. Maritime Administrator Lucinda Lessley, U.S. Transportation Command Commander General Stephen R. Lyons and Daniel B. Maffei, chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission.
In the video, Buttgieg spoke about the impact the pandemic has had on mariners.
“Over the course last year and a half, we have all been reminded how small our lives can feel in the face of enormous forces and events beyond our control,” Buttgieg said. “It has been a reminder of just how much is at stake and at risk for those who work to keep our country going.”
“On land, our dock workers, who often have to navigate close quarters, have faced higher rates of contracting the virus,” he continued. “At sea, many of our Merchant mariners had to quarantine abroad, far away from home and their loved ones.”
In 1933, Congress declared National Maritime Day to commemorate the American steamship Savannah’s voyage from the U.S. to England in 1819, marking the first successful crossing of the Atlantic Ocean with steam propulsion.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has identified the domestic maritime industry as a critical infrastructure sector. The industry serves a link in the state’s supply chain by providing reliable shipments of food products, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, fuel, and industrial equipment.
The Florida Maritime Partnership advocates for the state’s domestic maritime industry, which sustains nearly 66,000 American jobs and creates an annual economic impact of $14.6 billion.
