This article was last updated on 15th October 2024.

Alarm bells continue to ring over the decline of the US-flag merchant fleet, accompanied by dire warnings that this puts national security at risk. The merchant marine-national defence connection is an old theme that harks back to World War II and the words of President Franklin D. Roosevelt:

“Today, as never before in our history, our Merchant Marine is vital to our national welfare. I do not mean vital merely in the conventional sense that it makes an important contribution but in the stronger sense that it is a crucially decisive factor in our continued existence as a free people.”

Just how bad is the situation? Figures from the US Department of Transportation show that 177 ships were flying the US flag as of July 2023. Of this number, only 153 were “militarily useful”—meaning that they could be mobilised to transport logistical supplies to areas of conflict when needed. (A copy of the detailed fleet statistics can be downloaded here).

The fleet appears to have stabilised, but this is small consolation given the fact that China’s merchant fleet has more than 5,000 ships:

Source: DOT/Bureau of Transportation Statistics

Drastic steps needed

The Jones Act was meant to boost domestic commercial shipbuilding by requiring that goods shipped between two points in the country be transported by US-built vessels. Clearly, it has not achieved its goal. There is hardly any commercial ship construction going on in the United States. The Heritage Foundation based in Washington, D.C. has made some compelling arguments for the repeal of the law (read ‘Sink the Jones Act: Restoring America’s Competitive Advantage in Maritime-Related Industries‘)

Repealing the Jones Act won’t be enough, however. The American shipbuilding sector will need massive financial support. Unfortunately, the prospect of this happening anytime soon looks nil. The irony is that the US has been giving billions of dollars in financial aid and weapons to Israel, which has enabled it to continue carrying out the genocide in Gaza. It all comes down to a question of priorities and values.

A change in mindset

istorically, Americans have always regarded their merchant fleet as the nation’s “fourth arm of defence”. While this view is patriotic and makes sense, it is narrow and does not fully explain why the merchant fleet needs to be strengthened. It reflects America’s obsession with war and political conflict and with projecting its power to all corners of the globe (the US is widely reported to have more than 700 military bases overseas).

It’s high time for a new US mindset, one that considers the US merchant fleet essentially as a means to trading in peace and harmony with all nations. Perhaps Americans can draw inspiration from the French author and aviator, Antoine de Saint Exupéry, who wrote in his 1939 novel ‘Wind, Sand and Stars’ (Terre des Hommes in the original French):

“Transport of the mails, transport of the human voice, transport of flickering pictures—in this century as in others our highest accomplishments still have the single aim of bringing men together. Do our dreamers hold that the invention of writing, of printing, of the sailing ship, degraded the human spirit?”