Role of the U.S. Merchant Marine in National Security; Project Walrus Report (1959) / Chapter Skim
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SPECIAL SUPPORTING STUDIES
SPECIAL SUPPORTING STUDIES
Pages 16-60
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MERCHANT MARINE A THE NATIONAL PROBLEM Growing foreign competition with U
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Whether a similar or related procedure is now desirable in one or more other industries, it now appears essential in the merchant marine. Hopefully, such a program would establish a pattern that could be followed constructively elsewhere, but this prospect is not needed to underline the significance and urgency in the maritime industry.
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A substantial portion of maritime management has yet to be convinced that the advantages of technological improvement outweigh the increased capital investment required, in light of the uncertainties of the future. The maritime industry has not been a substantial supporter of research and development; in comparison to other U
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E TRANSITIONAL PROGRAM It would be premature to suggest specific means by which an effective transition to more mechanized and automated crew and cargo handling procedures might be accomplished.
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This program should provide for the continuous dissemination of information to labor and management on the role of the merchant marine in the national economy and in civil and defense mobilization. It is to be hoped
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2 TECHNOLOGICAL POSSIBILITIES A THE UNITIZED SHIPPING OPERATION General cargo ships designed for 20-knot sea speed and using currently available unitized cargo-handling systems can operate profitably and without subsidy in competition with foreign flag ships which use conventional cargo handling systems.
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The port time required for cargo handling will be reduced by 75 to 85 percent. The new designs of unitized cargo ships incorporate features allowing maximum exploitation of containers or pallets or a combination thereof.
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The statistics presented show that for this short haul service, cargo handling costs represent 69 percent of the total transportation costs for the conventional ship, about 36 percent for the subsidized container ship, but only 13 percent for the automated unsubsidized container ship. It should be noted that the unit transportation cost is reduced by about 45 percent using the unitized system.
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Container amortization (f) Total per ship Fleet Cost - Millions/Year Operating Cargo handling (a)
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C SPECIAL SHIPS FOR ROLL-ON, SMALL-HARBOR, OR OVER-THE-BEACH USE There appear to be two needs of the military services for limited war readiness that are not being met qualitatively by the merchant marine, (a)
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S merchant marine which will be of the greatest possible use, compatible with commercially sound operations, for national defense purposes under limited war conditions.
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(d) Continuous review of cargo handling research work by others, including that of the U
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S merchant marine, including the 1936 Act, to determine whether and in what respects they impede technological progress, and if so, what changes should be made to remove such impediments.
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Should the United States become engaged in limited war, the extent to which the service of friendly foreign flag shipping could be obtained on a charter basis to support our emergency objectives may be seriously restricted by international considerations. Even though many foreign shipowners would welcome the opportunity of employing their ships at lucrative rates, their governments might deny them such opportunity for fear of aggravating a critical situation.
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This would arise from the mixed allegiance of the foreign crew. The unpredictability of the extent of the support of our allies at some future date under an untold variety of limited war conditions may be reflected in changed degrees of dependability of foreign crews and thus limit U
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S maritime labor unions would immediately organize the crews under U
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. (Based on Department of Commerce publication Merchant Fleets of the World as of July 1, 1959.)
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R and SATELLITES, JULY 1, 1959 Total Combination Passenger and Cargo Freight Bulk Tankers Country Albania No.
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To meet military requirements, rapid reaction, particularly in limited war situations, can well mean the difference between a possible war situation which does not erupt and one which does. There is little doubt that current types of conventional merchant shipping are too slow in speed, and too slow in loading and discharging rates to be fully responsive to the military requirement for rapid reaction.
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This supporting study compares requirements and capabilities under specific assumed limited war conditions.
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Of the total dry cargo lift requirement, vehicular cargo amounts to about 25 percent. This percentage of vehicle to total dry cargo is the average military requirement for the duration of a limited war.
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Studies of theoretical troop deployments to various points on the globe have proved the worth of roll-on, roll-off vessels in reducing over-all ship requirements and condensing the time required to place a specific force ashore. Where discharge port facilities are at a premium, as they are in many of the areas of the world where limited wars are likely to occur, the greater vehicle carrying and discharging capacity of roll-on, roll-off ships of the type of the COMET is of special importance.
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In political-economic war, beaching-type ships appear to have little utility. In limited wars, beaching-type ships could play an important role.
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One method of adapting container ships to the carriage of military vehicles would be to provide removable platforms or 'tween decks, since the holds of container ships are normally open from the tank top to the weather deck. This is technically feasible and any additional cost could qualify as a defense feature allowance.
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2. The Maritime Administration should, in cooperation with industry and the military services, investigate the possibility of building into container ships a capability of carrying military cargo such as smaller unitized loads and vehicles.
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B DAMAGE PREDICTIONS Under the foregoing assumptions as to the terms of the war, the damage considerations most relevant to merchant shipping requirements are: 1.
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In the event of a nuclear war, all merchant shipping will clear the high seas and attempt to evacuate major ports. The time of resumption of large scale movements of ocean shipping, following the nuclear exchange, will depend on a number of factors, including the degree of reduction or containment of the enemy submarine threat.
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Considering damage to land lines of communication and transport, the merchant marine's military usefulness, for at least the first six to nine months following the outbreak of war, will be largely confined to assisting in the reconstitution of military potential and in the rehabilitation of facilities in general along the sea coasts. As land lines are repaired and placed in use, their contribution to the over-all task will increase, as will continued demands on the merchant marine for overseas movement.
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In an all-out general war involving nuclear exchange on the homelands of the major world powers, the immediate attack on merchant shipping assumes a secondary role (see Special Supporting Study No.
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Special Supporting Study No. 2 considers the practicality of high speed merchant ships and discusses their economic feasibility.
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In an all-out thermonuclear exchange the air threat against merchant shipping is much less important that the overall air threat. But it is not inconceivable that in limited wars friendly ports may be subjected to air attack without all-out war taking place.
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MERCHANT MARINE A NATIONAL POLICY The Merchant Marine Act of 1936, as amended, declares it to be national policy that the United States shall have a merchant fleet (a)
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S merchant ships carried 19 percent of our dry cargo trade but only 15-1/2 percent of our tanker trade.
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F SUBSIDY PROGRAM The Merchant Marine Act of 1936 authorized two types of subsidies by which the Government can help to maintain a strong privately owned merchant fleet and a strong shipbuilding and repair industry.
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On July 1 of this year, 72 merchant ships were under construction or conversion (both subsidized and unsubsidized)
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On the other hand, rising labor costs have prevented dry cargo ships from recovering the prewar coastwise trade. Since 1939 the deadweight tonnage in the domestic dry cargo ship fleet has declined nearly 60 percent, while tanker tonnage has increased by 35 percent.
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See Special Supporting Study No. 9 for further discussion of this matter.
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As of July 1959, there were approximately 25, 000, 000 deadweight tons of merchant shipping registered under PANLIBHON flags.
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that individual "flag of convenience" shipowners should negotiate bargaining agreements with the maritime labor unions of the countries in which the crews were hired. However, this position was changed radically at the January 1959 conference of the ITF in London.
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S -owned merchant shipping be documented under U
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(e) Further, during any national emergency declared by proclamation of the President, Section 902 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 empowers the Federal Maritime Board to requisition or purchase any vessel owned by citizens of the United States.
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(c) NATO nations in general have committed their merchant shipping to a common pool in the event of a NATO war.
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S -owned and controlled merchant shipping that is engaged in competitive foreign trade.
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