Page 12 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

IFJ The U.S. Merchant Marine

Ships engaged ill colllmerce that carry goods and liquids from one edge could not be sustained after the war. In 1936 Congress passed
place to another over the world's oceans and watenvays ;1fe called the ~vlerchant J'darine Act, which provided for the payment of con-
merchant mari1le ships. They mnge in size frOI11 huge oil tankers the struction and operating subsidies so American ship owners would
size of nircraft carriers to small cargo and p<lSScngef vessels that pI)' consider expansion. The Maritime COlllmission was established
inh1l1d waters and rivers. U.S. merchnnt marine ships are an impor- under the law to administer the act.
Innt pnrt of U.S. sea power. They collvey American products to mar- During World Wor I I. the U.S. shipbuilding industry ogoin went
kets around the world. and bring foreign products and raw materials into high gear. Between 1939 and 1945, <llmost six thousand mer-
essential to our economy back to U.S. ports. During a W,U, merchant chant ships were built. Close cooperation with the Navy resulted in
shipping dcUvers most of the equipment and supplies needed by our Liberty and Victor)' ships designed to meet the auxiliary needs of
forces deployed QVerse.lS. the wartime Navy and Cilpnble of being mass-produced at a phe-
In this chapter we will briefly summarize the history of the nomenal rate. The U.S. merchant marine accumulated a magnif-
U.S. merchant marine, discliss how it supports our ntllion in peace icent record. Although its ships and crews were subject to every
and war, and describe some of the main types of ships that make kind or enemy attack, with per capita casualties exceded onl}' by
up our modern-day merchant marine. the i\·larine Corps, it nevertheless succeeded in carrying millions of
tons of varied cargo across every ocean. Strategic materials essential
to industr), were alien brought back to the United States following
Historical Background delivef)' of wilftime militi.II·)r cargoes overseas.
The U.S. merchant marine has experienced several extremes be- In 1951, the J'vlaritime Commission was abolished and its
tween expansion and decline over the 111 .. 111)' years since the birth function was taken over by a new agency called the Maritime
of our nation. 11 nourished during the early days of the American Administration (MAltAD). MARAD administers federal pro-
republic while Europe was at war, and reached a peak in the 18505, grams to develop, promote, and operate the U.S. merchant marine,
due in large measure to the superiority of American-built clipper including routing, research and development, and regulation of
ships. Just prior to the Civil \Var, our merchant marine was second registration. It also maintains reserve fleets of government-owned
in size only to that of the I3ritish. ships essential for national defense, operates the U.S. ivlerchant
During and after the Civil \Var, however, our merchilnt milrine Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York, and administers
suftered a dramatic decline. This happened for sevem! reasons. gnlilts-in-aid for state operated maritime academics in California,
Chief ilmong these was the effect of the Southern commerce raid- i\-Inine. ;'vlassachusetts, New York. and Texas.
ers during the war, which preyed upon Northern merchant ship- After \'''orld \-Var II, the U.S. merchant marinc once again
ping ilround the globe and virtually drove it from the seas by war's entered a long period of decline that has lasted to this day. This
end. After the waf the nation's focus turned to westward expan- decline was caused by the combined effects of foreign subsidies
sion. Our depleted merchant marine suffered from European COIll- ond the high costs of both shipbuilding and ship opemtions inthc
petition, noncompetitive wage scales, soaring insurance costs, and United Stiltes ilS compared with must foreign ll1ilritime nations.
steadily increasing domestic shipbuilding costs. The liltter three For the past several years, only a limited number of new U.S. ships
factors have continued to plague the U.S. merchant Illilrine to the has been built in U.S. ship)'ards. and foreign ships now carr)' most
present day. Not since the Civil \·Var has the U.S. merchant marine American cargo on the high seaS.
been among the leaders in the world, except when spurred by the
demands of WM.
National Policy and the
13)' the time of \-Vorld \-\fM I, the volume of American imports
Merchant Marine Acts
and exports had grown il great deal, but ani), about 10 percent of
this trade was carried in ships Aying the U.S. nag. A large eA-ort to There were three important acts passed in the years 1920, 1928,
remedy this situation was made during the war, which resulted in and 1936 thot sought to promote the de"eiopment of the U.S.
over two thousnnd ships being built. Unfortunately, a competitive mer~hal1t marine. Several additional acts hm'e been passed since,

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