US President Barack Obama has enacted extensions of a military shipping scheme that will provide nearly $2.08bn in subsidies to owners of US-flag tonnage.

A provision of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act gives Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood 60 days to offer existing operators in the Maritime Security Program (MSP) extensions through to 2025. The 10-year deals will begin at the start of 2015, when the current contracts expire.

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