About the United States Merchant Marine
Academy
A glimpse at a map of the United States
shows us that we are a maritime nation. To the east is
the Atlantic Ocean; to the west, the Pacific; off our
southern border, the Gulf of Mexico; in the north, the
Great Lakes; and crisscrossing our states, great rivers
like the Mississippi and other inland waterways.
Every hour of every day, ships of all
types ply the waters in and around our nation. They leave
our ports laden with U.S. goods bound for foreign markets,
or arrive in our harbors with merchandise and materials
for American consumers.
There are tankers traveling along the
west coast with raw petroleum for our refineries; Great
Lakes vessels loaded with iron ore, coal or other minerals
for America's industry; huge containerships in Eastern
ports, their box-like containers filled with manufactured
goods; general cargo ships in the Gulf unloading pallets
of coffee and crates of fruit; tugboats pushing and pulling
barges carrying the Midwest's grain.
These kinds of vessels, owned by U.S.
companies, registered and operated under the American
flag, comprise the U.S. merchant marine. This fleet of
highly productive ships is a major part of our system
of commerce, helping guarantee our access to foreign markets
for sale of our manufactured goods.
Moreover, in time of war or national
emergency, the U.S. merchant marine becomes vital to national
security as a "fourth arm of defense." Our
merchant ships bear the brunt of delivering military supplies
overseas to our forces and allies. The stark lessons of
twentieth century conflict prove that a strong merchant
marine is an essential part of American seapower.
The nation's economic and security
needs met by the U.S. merchant marine are compelling.
Today, the United States imports approximately 85 percent
of some 77 strategic commodities critical to America's
industry and defense. Although we, as a nation, account
for only six percent of the world population, we purchase
nearly a third of the world's output of raw materials.
Ninetynine percent of these materials are transported
by merchant vessels.
A ship at sea does not operate in a
vacuum. It depends on a framework of shoreside activities
for its operations. This industry includes companies which
own and manage the vessels; ports and terminals where
cargo is handled; yards for ship repair; services like
marine insurance underwriters, ship chartering firms,
admiralty lawyers, engineering and research companies;
and increasingly today, intermodal systems of trucks and
railroads to distribute goods around the country.
But the most important element in a productive
merchant fleet and a strong transportation industry is
people - men and women who are intelligent, dedicated,
well-educated and competent.
The purpose of the U.S. Merchant Marine
Academy is to ensure that such people are available to
the nation as shipboard officers and as leaders in the
transportation field who will meet the challenges of the
present and the future.