COMMONWEALnReviving thenMerchant Marinenby Morris GuralnicknIn the years following World War II,nthe merchant marine of the UnitednStates went from being the greatest innthe world to its present virtual nonexistence.nFrom 1935 through World WarnII, the United States built some 6,500nmerchant ships. When the guns ceasednfiring, the United States owned thenlargest merchant fleet in the world.nEven in the mid-1950’s, we had morenthan 40 major operating companies.nBut in the years that followed the warnwe quickly lost our merchant fleet; wenscrapped many ships and sold others.nToday there remain only about 370nactive ships, plus another 100 inactivenbut still useful. There are only eightnoperating companies, of which severalnare clinging to life by a thread. Althoughnsome of the old ships are stillnafloat, the remainder of the war fleet isnno longer physically or economicallynuseful. We have practically no viablenreserve fleet. Of the 15 maritime nations,nwe rank 14th.nThere have been estimable but abortivenefforts to revive the merchant marine,nand well-intentioned promises bynDemocrats and Republicans alike, includingnMichael Dukakis and RichardnNixon, not to mention desperate strug­nVITAL SIGNSngles by private entities, but this declinenhas continued. Despite the fact that wenare the worid’s largest trading nation,nproducing over 60 percent of the goodsnpassing through our ports, we movenonly 4 percent of this cargo in our ownnships.nTo people in the field, it is apparentnthat a viable and active merchant marinenwould provide us with both annimproved economy and enhanced militarynsafety. Unfortunately, the public atnlarge is too preoccupied with morenimmediate pressures to think about thenmerchant marine, while Congress andnwhatever administration is in office havenneglected their duty to reverse ourndecline in shipping.nScholariy investigations of other nations’nmaintenance of merchant fleetsntestify to the benefits. The AtlanticnCouncil of the US has found that “ThenSoviet merchant marine and fishingnfleet make substantial contributions tonthe Soviet economy, as well as providingnsignificant opportunities to influencenthe economic growth and politicalnaffiliation of Third Worid countries.”nThese are serious matters affecting all ofnus, not merely shipbuilders, operators,nand special cadres of labor. Of all thenworld’s seafaring nations, the UnitednStates is alone in neglecting its merchantnfleet. All by itself, this shouldnwarn us that something is amiss. It isndamaging to our economy to leave thenmovement of cargo to foreign nations,nand we would be unable to supply ournfighting men if an enemy attacked us.nThe United States undertook emergencynconstruction of merchant fleetsnon two occasions preceding and duringnthe worid wars. Although we may benrightfully proud of our ability to producenships under pressure, it is importantnto realize that these efforts werenexpensive. Also, as is not so well known,nthe vessels produced were technologicallynbehind the times. That was to benexpected considering the circumstancesn— the ships were strictly “war babies,”nintended only for war and built in anhurry. An orderiy production of a merchantnfleet would seem to be a morennnlogical and economical process.nIn 1985, Congress established anCommission on the Merchant Marinenand Defense to study and report on itsnproblems as they affect the nation’sneconomy and national defense. However,nthe Bennett Commission, as it isncommonly known, was only anothernstudy group, and its findings will onlynreach a dusty shelf in a dusty library.nBut others are interested. In recentnyears, the sorry condition of our merchantnmarine has attracted the attentionnof people like Paula J. Petarino atnGeorgetown’s Center for Strategic andnInternational Studies, the late SamuelnE. Morison of Harvard, Leo J. Donovannof Booz, Allen, and Hamilton,nand Rep. Helen D. Bentley. This matternhas even been brought up by thennovelist Tom Clancy, who had somenharsh words about our negligence innRed Storm Rising.n”Another use for U.S.-flag shipsnwould be to provide U.S. aid ‘in kind’nrather than in cash,” Rear Admiral J.J.nEkelund, president of California MaritimenAcademy, has written. “For example:nWe give dollars to Egypt, andnEgypt buys grain from Argentina. Wencould, instead, provide grain to Egypt,nand ship it in.U.S.-flag ships.” ClintonnWhitehurst of Clemson University hasnmaintained that “any more majorn[ship]yard closures will impose an unacceptablenrisk to national security.n… In my opinion, the present supportnprograms are not adequate to thentask. If this assessment is accepted,nthen an expanded program to ensurenthe viability of the presenfly existingnshipyard industry must be put in placennow.”nShipbuilding has been a major activitynon our shores, lakes, and rivers sincencolonial days. Modern shipyards arenassembly plants dependent upon hundredsnof organizations all over thencountry that research, mine, and manufacturenthe myriad items that go intonmaking a ship. Today we have only 22nshipyards that are capable of buildingnlarge, seagoing ships. Since 1965, 55nyards have closed up shop (amongnMAY 1989/53n