Early history The
maritime history of the United States goes back to the first successful English colony was established in 1607, on the
James River at
Jamestown. It languished for decades until a new wave of settlers arrived in the late 17th century and set up commercial agriculture based on exports of tobacco to England. Settlers brought horses, cattle, sheep and hogs as well as tools and the current technology to the Americas. From the very first days of the founding of the North American colonies shipbuilding was naturally one of the industries that chiefly engaged the attention of the colonists. At the time of the breaking out of the American Revolution and for a long time afterwards more of the people in New England were actually engaged in shipbuilding and ship sailing than in agriculture, even in spite of the restrictions imposed on the building of ships in the English colonies. The statement is made that at one time during this period Massachusetts was estimated to have one vessel for every hundred of its inhabitants. One out of every four signers of the Declaration of Independence was a shipowner or had been a ship captain.
Revolutionary War The first war that an organized United States Merchant Marine took part in was the
American Revolutionary War, which lasted from 1775 to 1783. In 1775 the
Continental Congress and the various colonies issued
Letters of Marque to privately owned, armed merchant ships known as
privateers, which were outfitted as warships to prey on enemy merchant ships. They interrupted the British supply chain all along the eastern seaboard of the United States and across the Atlantic Ocean and the Merchant Marine's role in war began. This predates both the
United States Coast Guard (1790) and the
United States Navy (1797). During the
American Revolution, American ships came under the aegis of France due to a 1778
Treaty of Alliance between the two countries.
1783–1790 By 1783, however, with the end of the Revolution, America became solely responsible for the safety of its own commerce and citizens. Without the means or the authority to field a naval force necessary to protect their ships in the Mediterranean against the
Barbary pirates, the nascent U.S. government took a pragmatic, but ultimately self-destructive route. In 1784, the
United States Congress allocated money for payment of tribute to the pirates. paying tribute to the
DeyIn 1785, the
Dey of
Algiers took two American ships hostage and demanded US$60,000 in ransom for their crews. Then-ambassador to France
Thomas Jefferson argued that conceding the ransom would only encourage more attacks. His objections fell on the deaf ears of an inexperienced American government too riven with domestic discord to make a strong show of force overseas. The U.S. paid Algiers the ransom, and continued to pay up to $1 million per year over the next 15 years for the safe passage of American ships or the return of American hostages. Payments in ransom and tribute to the privateering states amounted to 20 percent of United States government annual revenues in 1800. The weakness of Congress under the Articles of Confederation prevented retaliation by the central government. Power was repeatedly asked to regulate commerce, but was refused by the states, upon whom rested the carrying out of such commercial treaties as Congress might negotiate. Eventually the states themselves attempted retaliatory measures, and during the years 1783–88, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia levied tonnage dues upon British vessels or discriminating tariffs upon British goods. Whatever effect these efforts might have had were neutralized by the fact that the duties were not uniform, varying in different states from no tariffs whatever to duties of 100 percent. This simply drove British ships to the free or cheapest ports and their goods continued to flood the market. Commercial war between the states followed and turned futility into chaos. The congress responded with passage of the
Tariff of 1789 which established tonnage rates favorable to American carriers by charging them lower cargo fees than those imposed on foreign boats importing similar goods. Coastal trade was reserved exclusively for American flag vessels. In 1789, when the Constitution was adopted, the registered tonnage of the United States engaged in foreign trade was 123,893. During the next succeeding eight years it increased 384 percent.
The 1790s In 1790, federal legislation was enacted pertaining to seamen and desertion. In 1796, federal legislation regarding Seaman's Protection Certificates (also known as
Protection papers) was enacted. The African slave trade became illegal on January 1, 1808. By 1807 the tonnage registered in the United States engaged in foreign trade had increased to 848,307. Although the amount of tonnage registered in foreign trade did not equal that of the years 1815-17 or the figures of the next two decades, the proportion of American carriage in the foreign trade reached 92.5 percent in 1826, a larger percentage than has been attained before or since. Not only were we carrying practically all of our own goods, but the reputation of Yankee ship builders for turning out models which surpassed in speed, strength, and durability any vessels to be found, brought about the sale between 1815 and 1840 of 540,000 tons of shipping to foreigners. Not withstanding higher wages, it cost less to run an American vessel, for a smaller crew was carried. Of the world's total whaling fleet in 1842, it was estimated that of 882 ships 652 were American vessels.
The 1830s '' In 1832,
Secretary of the Treasury Louis McLane ordered in writing for revenue cutters to conduct winter cruises to assist mariners in need, and Congress made the practice an official part of regulations in 1837. This was the beginning of the lifesaving mission that the later U.S. Coast Guard would be best known for worldwide. The side-wheel paddle steamer
SS Great Western was the first purpose-built steamship to initiate regularly scheduled trans-Atlantic crossings, starting in 1838. The record times of these steam ships (the Atlantic crossing to New York in thirteen and a half days) proved that steamers could make the trip in shorter time than the fastest sailing packet. The British government was farsighted enough to realize that the motive power of the immediate future was steam, and in 1839 heavily subsidized the
Cunard Line, which began its career in 1840 with four side-wheeled wooden ships. The British Government, therefore, readily aided Samuel Cunard, as it did other owners, granting him a subsidy of $425,000 a year to carry the mails back and forth between Liverpool, Halifax, and Boston, with an occasional visit to Quebec. This policy of subsidization, which was continued to at least WW II by Great Britain, aided materially not only in giving her maritime interests a start in the new type of ships, but in helping them win and hold supremacy on the ocean. The Peninsular Company, afterwards the
Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, was established in 1837, and the
Pacific Steam Navigation Company in 1840, both subsidized.
The 1840s The first regular steamship service from the west to the east coast of the
United States began on February 28, 1849, with the arrival of the
SS California (1848) in
San Francisco Bay.
California left
New York Harbor on October 6, 1848, rounded
Cape Horn at the tip of
South America, and arrived at
San Francisco, California after a 4-month 21-day journey.
SS Great Eastern was built in 1854–1857 with the intent of linking Great Britain with
India,
via the
Cape of Good Hope, without coaling stops; she would know a turbulent history, and was never put to her intended use. The years leading up to the Civil War were characterized by extremely rapid production in ship building. The 538,136 tons registered in foreign trade in 1831 had increased to 1,047,454 in 1847 and to 2,496,894 in 1862, a figure which represented the culmination of our shipbuilding tonnage until surpassed in WW I. From 1848 to 1858 ship building had been maintained at an average of 400,000 tons a year. This construction was caused by two conditions, the development of the clipper ship after 1845 and the increased demand for shipping. Designed for speed, the clipper was built on sharp lines and carried a maximum of canvas and was the culmination of the intense rivalry between steam and canvas. It was intended primarily for long voyages, and was used especially for the California and Far Eastern trade. Given a fair breeze, a clipper ship could outdistance a steamship. It was not uncommon for a clipper to sail over 300 miles a day; the
Flying Cloud (clipper) on a ninety-day run to San Francisco made 374 miles in one day. The
Comet (clipper), on an eighty-day voyage from San Francisco to New York averaged 210 miles a day. It appeared that the American ship builder, before he relinquished his supremacy, was intent upon demonstrating to what heights of efficiency and speed a sailing ship could attain. The increased demand for shipping was the result of several factors. The discovery in 1848 of gold in California was a major cause along with the wars between Great Britain and China in 1840–42 and 1856–60 threw a part of the China trade into American hands. The revolutionary outbreaks of 1848 interrupted European trade, with a resultant benefit to Americans, while the Crimean War, which occupied many European boats in transporting troops and supplies, gave new openings to American ships. In addition the natural growth in population, wealth, and production necessitated increased shipping. The volume of mail between the United States and Europe increased substantially during this period, and the capacity of the sailboat to deliver this mail efficiently and within a reasonable time was uncertain. Following the precedent established by England and other maritime nations, the federal government began its aid to ocean shipping with the overseas mail service. On March 3, 1845, Congress authorized the Postmaster General to invite bids on contracts to carry mail between the United States and abroad. Regular subsidized service between New York and Bremen, Havre, Liverpool and Panama was established under the Act of 1845. Subsidy payments averaged between $19,250 and $35,000 per round trip, and aggregated government expenditures to 1858 amounted to $14,400,000. This development led to the formation of the
U.S. Mail Steamship Company and the
Pacific Mail Steamship Company.
The 1850s Almost as revolutionary as the gradual substitution of steam for sailing vessels was the very gradual substitution of iron and later steel ships for those of wood. With an abundance of coal and iron close to the sea, with skilled mechanics and cheap labor, Great Britain forged ahead from the start. Already by 1853 one-fourth of the tonnage built in Great Britain were steamships and more than one-fourth were built of iron. In the same year 22 percent of American tonnage was constructed for steamships, but scarcely any iron ships were built here. The Yankee ship builder, overconfident in the recognized superiority of his inimitable clipper ship, was blinded to the fact that the future of the sea was for the nation which could build the cheapest and the best iron steamships. There was a decidedly unhealthy element to this remarkable activity in ship building. In the first place the demand from Europe because of the Crimean War was abnormal; between 1854 and 1859 the European nations were buying 50,000 tons of shipping as against 10,000 tons in normal years. Unfortunately, this increase in the building of sailing ships came at a time when their days were numbered, for between 1850 and 1860 the share of ocean freight carried by steamers increased from 14 to 28 percent. When the abnormal demand for sailing ships should let up, as it did in 1858, it meant that shipyards built and equipped for the production of wooden ships and shipwrights trained for a type no longer wanted would be idle, while foreign shipyards already engaged in the building of the iron steamship would be in a decidedly superior position. The panic of 1857 precipitated the crash. In 1858 ship building, which had been maintained for the preceding years at an average of 400,000 tons a year dropped to 244,000 and in 1859 to 156,000. At that time the combined imports and exports carried in American bottoms was steadily declining, only 65.2 percent being carried in 1861 as against 92.5 percent in 1826. Another factor in the decline of American ship building was a fundamental economic change in progress throughout the United States. Capital was finding new and more profitable fields for investment. Manufacturing, which grew rapidly after the War of 1812, absorbed some of it; while considerable amounts were drawn into such internal improvements as canals and railways. Between 1820 and 1838 the states contracted debts of over $110,000,000 for the building of roads, canals, and railroads; from 1830 to 1860 over 30,000 miles of railroad were built, most of the capital coming from private investors. The minds of the venturous and ambitious turned from the sea to the unexploited West, and capital turned from ship building to the development of natural resources. In 1852, the lighthouse board established and published first
Light List and
Notice to Mariners. A second round of ocean-mail contracts was authorized by Congress on May 28, 1864. Pursuant to the provisions of this Act, the United States and Brazil entered into a ten-year contract for monthly voyages between the United States and South America. Of the $250,000 annual subsidy requirement, the United States contributed $150,000 and Brazil $100,000. Subsequent subsidies to various individual American flag lines amounted to approximately $6,500,000 between 1864 and 1877.
1866–1870 First West Coast attempt at unionizing merchant seamen with the "Seamen's Friendly Union and Protective Society." The union quickly dissolves.
The 1870s By 1870, a number of inventions, such as the
screw propeller and the
triple expansion engine made trans-oceanic shipping economically viable. Thus began the era of cheap and safe travel and trade around the world. Starting in 1873, deck officers were required to pass mandatory license examinations. The
Sailors' Union of the Pacific (SUP) founded on March 6, 1885, in
San Francisco, California is an American
labor union of mariners, fishermen and boatmen working aboard U.S. flag vessels. At its fourth meeting in 1885, the fledgling organization adopted the name
Coast Sailor's Union and elected George Thompson its first president.
Andrew Furuseth, who had joined the union on June 3, 1885, was elected to its highest office in January 1887. In 1889 he returned to sea but was reelected to the position of union secretary in 1891. The
American Federation of Labor (AFL) was founded in 1886 by
Samuel Gompers as a national federation of skilled workers' unions. Several maritime unions would affiliate with the AFL. In 1887, the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee was formed. With the exception of a two-month period when he shipped out as a fisherman, Furuseth was secretary of the SUP until 1935. Originally formed as the
National Union of Seamen of America in 1892 in
Chicago,
Illinois, the organization was a federation of independent unions, including the
Sailors' Union of the Pacific, the
Lake Seamen's Union, the Atlantic Coast Seamen's Union, and the Seamen's and Firemen's Union of the Gulf Coast. and took the name
International Seamen's Union of America in 1895. By moving their ships to the Panamanian
flag of convenience,
owners could avoid providing these protections. In addition to sidestepping the Seamen's Act, Panamanian-flagged ships in this early period paid sailors on the Japanese wage scale, which was much lower than that of western merchant powers. Merchant ships were often sunk until the convoy system was adopted using British and Canadian naval escorts, Convoys were slow but were effective in stopping U-boat attacks. The troops were shipped over on fast passenger liners that could easily outrun submarines. In the First World War, Britain, as an island nation, was heavily dependent on foreign trade and imported resources. Germany found that their submarines, or
U-boats, while of limited effectiveness against surface warships on their guard, were greatly effective against merchant ships, and could easily patrol the Atlantic even when Allied ships dominated the surface. By 1915, Germany was attempting to use submarines to maintain a naval blockade of Britain by sinking cargo ships, including many passenger vessels. Submarines, however, depending on stealth and incapable of withstanding a direct attack by a surface ship (possibly a
Q-ship disguised as a merchant ship), found it difficult to give warning before attacking or to rescue survivors, which meant that civilian death tolls were high. This was a major factor in galvanizing neutral opinion against the Central Powers, as countries like the
United States suffered casualties and loss to their trade, and was one of the causes of the eventual entry of the US into the war. In
Sovereignty at Sea: U.S. Merchant Ships and American Entry into World War I, historian Dr. Rodney Carlisle asserts that it was, in fact, the sinking of nine U.S. merchant ships that ultimately induced President Wilson to ask Congress to declare war. Over time, the use of defended convoys of merchant ships allowed the Allies to maintain shipping across the Atlantic, in spite of heavy loss. The Royal Navy had conducted convoys in the
Napoleonic Wars and they had been used effectively to protect troopships in the current war, but the idea of using them to protect merchant shipping had been debated for several years. Nobody was sure if convoys were Britain's salvation or ruin. Consolidating merchant ships into
convoys might just provide German U-boats with a target-rich environment, and packing ships together might lead to collisions and other accidents. It was potentially a logistical nightmare as well, and allied officers judged it too much so. With the ability to replace losses, the dilemma of using convoys was not as painful. After experiments through the early months of 1917 that proved successful, the first formal convoys were organized in late May. By the autumn the convoy system had become very well organized, and losses for ships in convoy fell drastically, with 2% losses for ships in convoy compared to 10% losses for ships traveling on their own. The convoy loss rate dropped to 1% in October. However, convoy was not mandatory, and monthly loss rates did not fall below their 1916 levels until August 1918. The need for administering the merchant marine during wartime was demonstrated during the First World War. Commerce warfare, carried on by submarines and merchant raiders, had a disastrous effect on the Allied merchant fleet. In 1929, the California Maritime Academy established. The ISU was involved the
West Coast longshoremen's strike of 1934. at a conference of maritime unions in
Seattle, an umbrella union was established to represent the membership of the ISU as well as maritime officers and longshoremen, which was named the Maritime Federation,
Harry Lundeberg was named its first president. Congress took action to fix the problems in 1936. Seamen along the
East Coast struck to protect the treatment of the SS ''California's'' crew. Curran became a leader of the 10-week strike, eventually forming a supportive association known as the Seamen's Defense Committee. In October 1936, Curran called a second strike, in part to improve working conditions and in part to embarrass the ISU. The four-month strike idled 50,000 seamen and 300 ships along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Believing it was time to abandon the conservative ISU, Curran began recruiting members for a new rival union. The level of organizing was so intense that hundreds of ships delayed sailing as seamen listened to organizers and signed union cards. The ISU's official publication, ''The Seamen's Journal'', suggested Curran's "sudden disenchantment" with the ISU was odd, since he'd only been a "member of the union for one year during his seafaring career." On October 15, 1938, at an AFL convention in
Houston, Texas, Green handed Lundeberg the Seafarer's International Union charter. The new union represented 7,000 members on the East and
Gulf coasts. Seventy years later, SIU holds the charters to both NMU and SUP.
Wartime issues During the Second World War, the merchant service sailed and took orders from naval officers. Some were uniformed, and some were trained to use a gun. However, they were formally considered volunteers and not members of the military.
Walter Winchell, the famous newspaper columnist and radio commentator, and columnist
Westbrook Pegler both described the National Maritime Union and the merchant seamen generally as draft dodgers, criminals, riffraff, Communists, and other derogatory names. It came to a head in the middle of the war with the writing of a column in the
New York World-Telegram by Pegler, who alleged that merchant seamen refused to work on Sundays per union rules, causing sick
USMC servicemen to unload their own supplies in an incident off
Guadalcanal. He went on to say that these seamen received "fabulous pay for sailors, including overtime bonuses, whereas the navy men draw only the modest pay for their ratings without extras." This was a specific allegation, and in February 1943, the National Maritime Union, representing seven other unions, filed suit for
libel against
Hearst Newspapers, publisher of the newspaper, and the
Associated Press for its wide dissemination of what was claimed to be an untrue story. As part of their suit, they pointed out that Government allotments for families, low-rate premiums on insurance, hospitalization, dental care, pension, and civil service rating consideration tend to balance the pay of ordinary seamen in civilian service. But they denied the incident ever took place, and were backed by a report of Admiral
William F. Halsey, commander of United States forces in the South Pacific, to the Navy Department in which Halsey praised the "co-operation, efficiency and courage" of the merchant seamen and asserted that "In no instance have merchant marine seamen refused to discharge cargo from their vessels or in any other way failed to co-operate with the United States forces ashore in that (South Pacific) area." They won their suit, but the residual effect would last for decades. What was ignored, say the
Seafarers' International Union, was that seamen are paid by the ship owner for their work, consequently they were paid only while the ships were in the water. A seaman torpedoed off his ship was off the payroll the minute he was injured, landed in a lifeboat or hit the water. Surviving seamen had to beg, borrow, plead or work their way back to the United States from places such as
Murmansk, Russia, so they could be reassigned to another ship. Until that happened, they weren't paid. And in addition they would be
drafted if they didn't find another ship within 30 days. Their wartime record reveals that their losses were among the highest of any group in the front lines. They died at a rate of 1 in 24. All told, 733 American cargo ships were lost and 8,651 of the 215,000 who served perished on troubled waters and off enemy shores.
tanker Dixie Arrow after she was
torpedoed in the
Atlantic Ocean by
U-71 The biggest supporter of the merchant sailors was President
Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was he who in 1936 urged the
United States Congress to pass the
Merchant Marine Act, which established a 10-year program for building ships that would be used for commerce during peacetime and would be converted for use by the Navy during times of war or national emergency; and a training program for seamen that linked them to the military in wartime, specifically the Navy. It was this legislation that enabled the country to take on the
Axis powers a few years later, but not before extensive losses on the East coast, which was crawling with
German submarines by the end of 1941. That year the Germans sank 1,232
Allied and neutral ships worldwide, including those crewed by the Merchant Marine, and the following year was even worse. The Allies would lose 1,323 ships, while Germany's submarine losses totaled just 87. More than 1,000 merchant seamen would die within sight of the East Coast, and it wasn't uncommon for inhabitants of the seashore to find their bodies washed up on the sand. Roosevelt, while the war was under way, proclaimed "Mariners have written one of its most brilliant chapters. They have delivered the goods when and where needed in every theater of operations and across every ocean in the biggest, the most difficult and dangerous job ever undertaken. As time goes on, there will be greater public understanding of our merchant's fleet record during this war." But it wasn't to be, for with Roosevelt's death in 1945, the Merchant Marine lost its staunchest supporter and any chance to share in the accolades afforded others who served. The
War Department, the same government branch that recruited them, opposed the Seaman's Bill of Rights in 1947 (see below) and managed to kill the legislation in congressional committee, effectively ending any chance for seamen to reap the thanks of a nation. For 43 years, the U.S. government denied them benefits ranging from housing to health care until Congress awarded them veterans' status in 1988, too late for 125,000 mariners, roughly half of those who had served. Today there are shrine and memorial reminders of mariners' heroism such as The
American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial in
San Pedro, California, and the
American Merchant Mariners' Memorial at
Battery Park in
Lower Manhattan. The old
Navy-Marine Memorial in
Washington, D.C. honors those who died during World War I. Since the
First World War and
World War II, many Merchant Marine officers have also held commissions in the United States Naval Reserve. Graduates of the
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy are commissioned into the USNR by default if they do not choose to be commissioned in another service of the armed forces. A special badge, known as the
Naval Reserve Merchant Marine Badge, has existed since the early 1940s to recognize such Merchant Marine personnel who are called to active duty in the Navy. World War II USMM were eligible for the
Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal,
Merchant Marine Mariner's Medal,
Merchant Marine Combat Bar,
Merchant Marine Atlantic War Zone Bar,
Merchant Marine Mediterranean-Middle East War Zone Bar, and
Merchant Marine Pacific War Zone Bar. In 1946, a
Merchant Marine World War II Victory Medal was established. In the late 1940s, the Liberian open registry was formed as the brainchild of
Edward Stettinius, who had been
Franklin D. Roosevelt's
Secretary of State during World War II. Stettinius created a corporate structure that included
The Liberia Corporation, a joint-venture with the government of Liberia. Within 18 years, Liberia grew to surpass the United Kingdom as the world's largest register.
Korean War On March 13, 1951, the
Secretary of Commerce established the National Shipping Authority (NSA) to provide ships from the
Maritime Administration's (MARAD) National Defense Fleet (NDRF). These ships would meet the needs of the military services and other agencies of government beyond the capabilities of the privately owned vessels of the U.S.-flag Merchant Marine. During times of war, the NSA also requisitioned privately owned merchant ships and made them available for military purposes. Immediately after its establishment, the NSA reactivated vessels to meet the urgent needs of America's European allies to help transport coal and other bulk materials to rebuild their defenses. During the
Korean War there were few severe sealift problems other than the need to re-mobilize forces following post–World War II demobilization. About 700 ships were activated from the NDRF for services to the Far East. In addition, a worldwide tonnage shortfall between 1951 and 1953 required the reactivation of over 600 ships to lift coal to Northern Europe and grain to India during the first years of the
Cold War. The commercial merchant marine formed the backbone of the bridge of ships across the Pacific. From just six ships under charter when the war began, this total peaked at 255. According to the
Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS), 85 percent of the dry cargo requirements during the Korean War were met through commercial vessels – only five percent were shipped by air. More than $475 million, or 75 percent of the MSTS operating budget for calendar year 1952, was paid directly to commercial shipping interests. In addition to the ships assigned directly to MSTS, 130 laid-up Victory ships in the NDRF were broken out by the Maritime Administration and assigned under time-charters to private shipping firms for charter to MSTS. Ships of the MSTS not only provided supplies but also served as naval auxiliaries. When the
U.S. Army's
X Corps went ashore at Inchon in September 1950, 13 USNS cargo ships, 26 chartered American, and 34 Japanese-crewed merchant ships, under the operational control of MSTS, participated in the invasion. Sealift responsibilities were accomplished on short notice during the Korean War. Initially American troops lacked the vital equipment to fight the
North Koreans, but military and commercial vessels quickly began delivering the fighting tools needed to turn back the enemy. According to the MSTS, 7 tons of supplies were needed for every Marine or soldier bound for Korea and an additional one for each month thereafter. Cargo ships unloaded supplies around the clock, making
Pusan a bustling port. The success of the U.S. Merchant Marine during this crisis hammered home to critics the importance of maritime preparedness and the folly of efforts to scuttle the Merchant Marine fleet. In addition to delivering equipment to American forces – more than 90 percent of all American and other
United Nations’ troops – supplies and equipment were delivered to Korea through the MSTS with the assistance of commercial cargo vessels. A bridge of ships, much like in World War II, spanned the
Pacific Ocean during the three years of hostilities. Merchant ships played an important role in the evacuation of
United Nations troops from
Hungnam, following the
Chosin Reservoir Campaign. The Merchant Marine and Navy evacuated over 100,000 U.N. troops and another 91,000 Korean refugees and moved 350,000 tons of cargo and 17,500 vehicles in less than two weeks. One of the most famous rescues was performed by the U.S. merchant ship
SS Meredith Victory. Only hours before the advancing communists drove the U.N. forces from North Korea in December 1950, the vessel, built to accommodate 12 passengers, carried more than 14,000 Korean civilians from
Hungnam to
Pusan in the south.
First mate D. S. Savastio, with nothing but first aid training, delivered five babies during the three-day passage to
Pusan. Ten years later, the Maritime Administration honored the crew by awarding them a
Gallant Ship Award. Privately owned American merchant ships helped deploy thousands of U.S. troops and their equipment, bringing high praise from the commander of U.S. Naval Forces in the Far East, Admiral
Charles T. Joy. In congratulating Navy Captain A.F. Junker, Commander of the Military Sea Transportation Service for the western Pacific, Admiral Joy noted that the success of the Korean campaign was dependent on the Merchant Marine. He said, "The Merchant Mariners in your command performed silently, but their accomplishments speak loudly. Such teammates are comforting to work with." Government owned merchant vessels from the
National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) have supported emergency shipping requirements in seven wars and crises. During the Korean War, 540 vessels were activated to support military forces. From 1955 through 1964, another 600 ships were used to store grain for the
Department of Agriculture. Another tonnage shortfall following the
Suez Canal closing in 1956 caused 223 cargo ship and 29 tanker activations from the NDRF.
1953–1960 In 1953 at the Sixth Biennial Convention of the SIUNA the BME gained autonomy, which would allow it to adopt its first constitution and elect officers for the first time. The first constitution was drafted by Edward Reisman, Rudolph Wunsch, James Wilde, Everett Landers, Peter Geipi, and William Lovvorn, who "wanted to craft a document that would provide for free and fair elections, set the terms of office for official positions, specify the duties of union officials, provide for charges, trials, and appeals, permit rank and file membership inspection of the union's financial records, and permit amendments by rank and file vote." The BME Welfare Plan was growing at an impressive rate under the care of Director of Welfare and Special Services Ray McKay. In August 1954, he reported its assets to be in excess of $100,000. The plan offered a number of progressive benefits, such as full surgery coverage for members and their families, and full coverage for seeing a physician. In February 1955, the union began pursuing the "first pension plan ever for U.S. merchant marine officers," which was well underway by November 1955. Later that year, on October 29, 1957, McKay and then-president of the
Marine Engineers Beneficial Association H.L. Daggett signed an accord leading BME to merge with several MEBA locals. The newly formed entity was known as MEBA's Great Lakes District Local 101. The crisis began on May 12, 1975, when
Khmer Rouge naval forces operating former U.S. Navy "
Swift Boats" seized the American container ship
SS Mayagüez in recognized international sea lanes claimed as territorial waters by
Cambodia and removed its crew for questioning. Surveillance by
P-3 Orion aircraft indicated that the ship was then moved to and anchored at
Koh Tang, an island approximately off the southern coast of Cambodia near that country's shared border with
Vietnam. Tragically, the ship's crew whose seizure had prompted the US attack had been released in good health, unknown to the
US Marines or the US command of the operation, before the Marines attacked. The incident marked the last official battle of the United States involvement in the Vietnam War.
The 1970s In 1970, the Merchant Marine Act authorized a subsidized shipbuilding program. This was restored after approximately a decade, on March 12, 2004, when
Michael Sacco presented AMO with a charter from
SIUNA. In 2003, 40 RRF ships were used in support of
Operation Enduring Freedom and
Operation Iraqi Freedom. This RRF contribution was significant and included sealifting equipment and supplies into the theatre of combat operations, which included combat support equipment for the Army, Navy Combat Logistics Force, and USMC Aviation Support equipment. By the beginning of May 2005, RRF cumulative support included 85 ship activations that logged almost 12,000 ship operating days, moving almost 25% of the equipment needed to support the U.S. Armed Forces liberation of Iraq. On January 8, 2007, Tom Bethel was appointed by the AMO national executive committee to fulfil the term of former president
Michael McKay. The RRF was called upon to provide humanitarian assistance to gulf coast areas following
Hurricane Katrina and
Hurricane Rita landfalls in August and September, respectively, of 2005. The
Federal Emergency Management Agency requested a total of eight vessels to support relief efforts. Messing and berthing was provided for refinery workers, oils spill response teams, longshoremen. One of the vessels provided electrical power. ==See also==