I.

Introduction

Merchant Marine of the United States, privately owned and operated commercial vessels, registered under the American flag, engaged in foreign commerce, coastal trade, Great Lakes shipping, or towing operations on the inland waterways. The merchant marine also includes some publicly owned ships held in reserve by the U.S. government. In 2001, the commercial oceangoing fleet consisted of 454 ships totaling 16 million deadweight tons (dwt), the measure of carrying capacity of merchant ships. Another 70 vessels totaling 2.1 million dwt served the Great Lakes trade. Among world flag fleets, the U.S. Merchant Marine ranks 19th in number of vessels and 11th on the basis of deadweight tonnage.

II.

History

The need for vital and enriching trade has always induced countries to send their fleets to uncharted territories in search of resources and trading partners. Christopher Columbus was in search of an alternate route to the East when he landed in the New World. Later, merchant ships provided the lifeline for goods and communication between the American colonies and Great Britain. The colonists soon became skillful shipbuilders and sailors. An abundance of timber along the coast from Maine to Virginia encouraged ship construction and the development of a lively international trade.

During the American Revolution, the merchant fleet contributed substantially to the American victory. After independence, U.S. ships were barred from the colonial trade of the British Empire. Trade with other European nations was active, however, because of their need for America's farm, forest, and fish products. Lumber and food were exchanged in the West Indies for rum, molasses, and sugar. The Far East soon became a trading interest, and in 1787 the first voyage from the United States to Java and China was made by the U.S. vessel Empress of China.

The earliest U.S. ships sailed when cargo was offered. Often the captain and crew undertook to sell the cargo for a share of the profits. Later, cargo was carried at fixed rates for merchants, and sailings were at regular, stated intervals.

For 40 years after the War of 1812, U.S. shipping expanded, and shipbuilding and navigation improved. In 1816 an American company, the Black Ball Line, began regular passages from New York City to Liverpool; this was the start of modern steamship lines offering scheduled sailings on regular routes. By the 1840s American shipyards were producing clipper ships (see Clipper), the fastest oceangoing sailing vessels ever built. Clippers were specialized ships, built to carry cargoes of high value and small volume; they were used principally on the long voyages from the East Coast to the West Coast, India, and China. The U.S. Merchant Marine was at its most prosperous in the 1850s. After the repeal of the protective British navigation laws in 1849, American ships were able to join in the lucrative business of transporting tea from China to Britain. U.S. ships increased in total tonnage from 943,000 tons in 1846 to 2,226,000 tons in 1857 and were then able to compete on even terms with British ships in British ports.

Ships helped knit the United States together as a united country fronting on two oceans. They brought goods and people from the East Coast to the West Coast, especially during the California gold rush. Following the American Civil War, however, the U.S. merchant fleet declined as interest in the nation's western regions and its railroads increased. In addition, with the development of steam-powered vessels, sailing ships were becoming obsolete as major cargo carriers. Foreign shipbuilders, who had made rapid technological progress during the Civil War, gained further advantages because of their lower costs for labor and materials. Britain took the lead in building iron- and steel-hulled vessels powered by steam. By the beginning of the 20th century, only one U.S. transatlantic line was in operation. American ships were carrying less than 10 percent of U.S. exports and imports.

During World War I, goods piled up at U.S. ports as warring nations' ships were suddenly withdrawn from commercial trade. When the United States entered the war in 1917, it had to rely on foreign vessels to transport troops and supplies to the front. A great shipbuilding program was launched during the war; this program produced a surplus of ships, many of which were not suited to peacetime use.

A slump in shipping during the worldwide depression of the 1930s brought the U.S. merchant fleet to a very low level. It was generally obsolete and noncompetitive by the time the U.S. Congress passed the Merchant Marine Act of 1936. To obtain a modern, efficient, competitive fleet, a program that called for the construction of 500 ships over a 10-year period was approved. This program was already under way when the United States entered World War II in December 1941. During the war, U.S. shipyards, using mass-production methods, built the world's largest fleet; about 5,600 merchant ships and warships. Some 674 of these ships were lost in the war.

After the war, American companies used many of the remaining ships for domestic and foreign trade. Before long, however, they were falling behind the newer, more efficient fleets of Japan and the European maritime nations, which had lower crew costs. In 1948 about 60 percent of U.S. waterborne foreign commerce was transported on American-flag ships; in the mid-1980s, American ships were carrying 4.3 percent of the nation's total foreign commerce.

III.

Vessels and Personnel

Commercial vessels are classified by their cargoes and their schedules. In the first of two basic categories are ships in the liner trade; that is, regularly scheduled general cargo ships of various types. The second category, known as bulk carriers, transport large quantities of one kind of unpacked cargo. They usually operate on a charter basis rather than on a regular schedule. Dry bulk vessels carry solid cargoes such as coal or grain; tankers transport large quantities of fluids such as petroleum.

All the ships in the merchant fleet are registered in the U.S. and are completely staffed by American citizens. Maritime labor is divided into shoreside, seagoing, and shipyard workers. Each group is represented by various unions and associations. In the early 2000s about 10,400 licensed and unlicensed seagoing personnel worked on U.S. vessels. Approximately 24,000 longshoremen constituted the shoreside segment of the industry, with responsibility for loading and discharging cargoes at all U.S. ports. In addition, about 35,000 workers were employed in the nation's shipyards.

IV.

Domestic and International Trade

The first important American highways were water routes, and today they remain an integral component of the U.S. transportation network. Domestic shipping is composed of three types of services: ocean, Great Lakes, and inland waterways. Ocean shipping is divided into coastwise, intercoastal (that is, between Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific ports), and noncontiguous trade (from the mainland to and from Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam).

Cargo moved in the domestic trades consists mainly of coal, iron ore, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, and agricultural products moving in bulk. Much of the intercity cargo is transported by vessels in the domestic service; in 1982, for example, more than 600 million tons of freight were carried by barges.

The U.S. is the world's largest trading nation, with 95 percent of its imports and exports (excluding trade with Canada and Mexico) moving by sea. Oceanborne foreign trade is conducted by three kinds of shipping service: liner or scheduled ships, nonliner tramp ships, and tanker service. In the mid-1980s this trade totaled about 677 million tons, valued at almost $303 billion.

V.

Defense Functions

The U.S. Merchant Marine has long been part of the country's defense forces. The Merchant Marine Act made it national policy to encourage the development and maintenance of a merchant fleet capable of serving as a naval and military auxiliary in wartime. The merchant marine also serves the government by supplying overseas bases. Merchant ships were much in demand to ferry troops and supplies during both world wars. They were again used in the Korean and Vietnam wars to carry supplies to the war zones.

In addition to privately owned and operated vessels engaged in domestic and foreign commerce, some ships are kept in reserve by the U.S. government for activation in time of national emergency. These ships were specially designed with the capacity to transport troops and matériel overseas when necessary. About 400 such vessels now constitute what is called the Ready Reserve Fleet and the Military Sealift Command; both are geared for emergency operations.

VI.

Administration and Regulation

The Maritime Administration is the government agency responsible for promoting and maintaining a merchant marine for purposes of commerce and defense. This agency, under the Department of Transportation, is charged with administering government payments of operating subsidies to help U.S. firms in meeting foreign competition. In return for government aid, liner operators must provide regular, adequate service in U.S. foreign trade. The subsidized operator must agree to replace obsolete ships with new American-built vessels suitable for the trade routes to be served and for emergency use as military auxiliaries. The government may also provide aid by guaranteeing ship construction loans or mortgages that are obtained from private sources.

In addition, the Maritime Administration carries out programs to improve the efficiency and economy of the merchant marine. It helps industry to generate increased business for U.S. ships and conducts programs to develop ports and facilities. The agency is represented on U.S. delegations to international conferences concerned with such matters as the prevention of pollution of the seas by oil, liability for damage from nuclear-powered ships, and improved safety and navigation regulations. It is also organizes and directs emergency merchant ship operations. The Maritime Administration operates the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York.

The Federal Maritime Commission, an independent government agency that was established in 1961 to handle regulatory functions, is responsible for making regulations governing vessels engaged in the liner trade; the commission is also responsible for deciding when and how these regulations apply.

See also Shipping Industry; Ships and Shipbuilding; Transportation.

Contributed by: National Maritime Council