Recommendations on Containerized Shipping Service to Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Guam

The Department of Defense (DOD) did not concur with the following two GAO recommendations concerning containerized shipping service to Puerto Rico, Hawaii; and Guam: (1) the Military Sealift Command (MSC) should be directed to develop a staff knowledgeable in commercial ocean tariffs; and (2) MSC should review its negotiation efforts to date in the Puerto Rico trade. DOD replied to GAO that they disagreed that MSC has a void in the ability to use commercial ocean tariffs, and that the problem was not one of a lack of staff competence but a lack of basic commodity information necessary to properly rate the shipments.