For the purposes of this part:

(a) Administrator means the Maritime Administrator, Maritime Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation USDOT. The Administrator is responsible for administering the America's Marine Highway Program (AMHP) and making route and project recommendations to the Secretary.

(b) Department means the U.S. Department of Transportation.

(c) Cargo on a Marine Highway service means goods transported in commerce and generally refers to, but is not limited by, the types and kinds of cargo that are described in the definition of “Short sea transportation”, in paragraph (k) of this section. Neither weight nor proportionality are considered under this definition. The term as used in this context is generally interchangeable with the term “Freight”, defined in paragraph (d) of this section.

(d) Freight on a Marine Highway service means goods transported in commerce and generally refers to, but is not limited by, the types and kinds of cargo that are described in the definition of “Short sea transportation”, in paragraph (k) of this section. Neither weight nor proportionality are considered under this definition. The term as used in this context is generally interchangeable with the term “Cargo”, defined in paragraph (c) of this section.

(e) Marine Highway Routes or Routes mean commercially navigable coastal, inland, and intracoastal waters of the United States as designated by the Secretary. This includes connections between U.S. ports and Canadian ports on the Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Seaway System, and non-contiguous U.S. ports. Marine Highway Routes are a component of the Nation's surface transportation system. Each Marine Highway Route is described in terms of the specific landside transportation routes (road or railway) that it supplements or to which it connects. All previously designated Marine Highway “corridors,” “connectors,” and “crossings” are now designated as “Routes.”

(f) Marine Highway Projects are planned or contemplated new services, or expansions of existing services, on designated Marine Highway Routes, that seek to provide new modal choices to shippers, reduce transportation costs, and/or provide public benefits, which include reduced air emissions, reduced road maintenance costs, and improved safety and resiliency impacts. Project Applicants propose projects and the Secretary may designate projects consistent with this part.

(g) Project Applicant means a public entity with operations, or administrative areas of responsibility, that are adjacent to or near the relevant Route that applies for designation of a Marine Highway Project pursuant to this part. Eligible applicants include State governments (including State departments of transportation), metropolitan planning organizations, port authorities and tribal governments.

(h) Program Office means Office of Marine Highways and Passenger Services.

(i) Route Sponsors are public entities with operations or administrative areas of responsibility that are adjacent to or related to the relevant Route that recommend a commercially navigable waterway for designation as a Marine Highway Route. Eligible Route Sponsors include State governments (including State departments of transportation), metropolitan planning organizations, port authorities, non-Federal navigation districts and tribal governments.

(j) Secretary means the Secretary of Transportation.

(k) Short sea transportation means the carriage by a U.S. documented vessel of cargo—

(1) That is—

(i) Contained in intermodal cargo containers and loaded by crane on the vessel;

(ii) Loaded on the vessel by means of wheeled technology;

(iii) Shipped in discrete units or packages that are handled individually, palletized, or unitized for purposes of transportation; or

(iv) Freight vehicles carried aboard commuter ferry boats; and

(2) That is—

(i) Loaded at a port in the United States and unloaded either at another port in the United States or at a port in Canada located in the Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Seaway System; or,

(ii) Loaded at a port in Canada located in the Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence Seaway System and unloaded at a port in the United States.

(l) United States documented vessel means a vessel documented under 46 CFR part 67.