Washington, D.C. – The Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (M.E.B.A.) and the American Maritime Congress (AMC) are pleased to announce the permaent appointment of Captain Lee A. Kincaid as President of the AMC, and James E. Caponiti as Executive Director.
“I am very excited to permanently welcome Captain Kincaid as AMC President, as I know the organization will prosper under his leadership. I am also pleased to welcome aboard Jim Caponiti and feel that his experience in the U.S. Maritime Administration will help give new insight into the direction of the AMC,†said Mike Jewell, AMC Board Chairman. “Under the guidance of these two men I believe the AMC will be able to gain an even stronger voice in Washington as the advocate for the good of American Flag Shipping and the US Flag Merchant Marine.â€
Captain Kincaid has served as Interim President of the AMC for the past six months. He is an 1977 honors graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) at Kings Point, New York, sailed for 15 years in all merchant marine deck officer positions including Master, and currently holds a fifth issue unlimited U.S. Coast Guard Masters license. Previously, Captain Kincaid served as the Director of Government Affairs for Project ACTA, and was Assistant Director of the M.E.B.A. Engineering School for 10 years. He is a former co-chairman of the MARAD Ship Operations Cooperative Program (SOCP), and served for a number of years as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London. Captain Kincaid served on the Federal Academy Selection Committee for first district of Maryland and on the Smithsonian American History Museum Maritime Advisory Committee. He is also an admissions field representative for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, an auditor for the American Council on Education (ACE) for both commercial and military education programs and courses, and serves as an expert witness for maritime industry legal services. Captain Kincaid holds a B.S. degree in Marine Transportation and a minor in Maritime Law from USMMA.
Mr. Caponiti currently serves as the Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Maritime Administration; as the senior Civil Servant and senior career SES Officer in the Agency, he assists the Maritime Administrator and Deputy Maritime Administrator. He is also the Chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Planning Board for Ocean Shipping (PBOS). Previously, he was appointed to the Senior Executive Service (SES) in March 1996 as the Maritime Administration’s Associate Administrator for National Security where he served until May 2008. Prior to his SES appointment, Mr. Caponiti was named Director, Office of Sealift Support, under the new Associate Administrator for National Security, as part of a major reorganization of the Maritime Administration in October 1994. From January 2001 to October 2002, he also served as the Acting Deputy Maritime Administrator for Inland Waterways and Great Lakes. Mr. Caponiti holds a B.S. degree from the University of Maryland in Business Administration.
About the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association
The M.E.B.A., America’s oldest maritime labor union, supplies U.S. Coast Guard licensed deck and engineering officers in both the U.S. domestic and international trades. The Union was established in1875. Its members serve aboard tugs and barges, fireboats, research vessels and in various capacities in the shoreside industries. In wartime, M.E.B.A. members have sailed in virtually unarmed merchant ships delivering critical defense cargo despite attacks from enemy aircrafts, submarines and warships. In times of peace our members still face dangers such as piracy on the high seas in order to best serve their country.
About the American Maritime Congress
The American Maritime Congress, founded in 1977, is an educational and research group representing U.S.-flag vessel operating companies in the international and domestic trades that have collective bargaining agreements with the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (AFL- CIO), which represents the licensed engineers and deck officers of the U.S. Merchant Marine.
