1998 Year of the Ocean The Oceans and National Security 



sealift of deploying forces, follow-on supply and sustainment, 

 shipbuilding and ship repair. In coordination with the Department of 

 Defense, the Department of Transportation will determine the capacity of 

 our merchant marine industries to meet these requirements and to provide 

 the sealift required to support the essential industrial activity during 

 wartime." 



National Security Directive 28 reflects the link between the seagoing armed services, 

 U.S. -flag merchant vessels, the merchant seamen who crew them, and the commercial maritime 

 industrial base of ports, shipyards, and ship repair facilities. Playing a vital national security role 

 since colonial days, the U.S. Merchant Marine is often referred to as another arm of the nation's 

 defense. 



The 1992 Mobility Requirements Study, the 1995 Bottom-Up Review, and the 1997 

 Quadrennial Defense Review reaffirmed the requirements for "defense deployment." To deploy 

 U.S. forces overseas and resupply them, the U.S. Merchant Marine provides U.S. -flag civilian- 

 crewed commercial ships and civilian crews to government-owned support ships. These sealift 

 assets account for about 95 percent of all the tonnage delivered in support of military 

 requirements in peacetime and during times of crisis. Naval shipyards and ship repair facilities 

 build and help maintain Navy and merchant ships, activate inactive ships, and repair battle- 

 damaged vessels. 



Over 4,800 civilian mariners crew the 200 commercial vessels with military features 

 which are included in the Afloat Preposition Force, Fast Sealift Ships, Ready Reserve Force 

 ships, Maritime Security Fleet, and Navy Fleet Auxiliary Force. Over half of these sealift ships 

 are actively deployed or are in commercial service around the globe. The Maritime Security Fleet 

 is composed of militarily useful dry cargo commercial vessels which receive operating assistance 

 in return for a commitment that these vessels, and the commercial intermodal systems which 

 support them, will be made available for national security purposes if needed. Inactive strategic 

 sealift ships are positioned throughout the United States and overseas and are capable of being 

 activated within 4 to 20 days. All of the vessels in 4 or 5 day readiness have a cadre crew of 

 civilian mariners. These vessels have already proven their value in supporting defense 

 deployments in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Somalia, Haiti, and Bosnia. 



The Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration is charged with ensuring a 

 viable U.S. Merchant Marine and maritime industry to meet national security needs. The 

 Maritime Administration, in cooperation with the Navy, supports programs directed towards 

 sustaining the maritime infrastructure, including maritime education and training; National 

 Defense Features and Title XI loans; operational differential subsidies and maritime security 

 agreements; and the development of technologies and industrial processes. Since 1980, major 

 shipbuilding in the United States has been maintained predominantly by construction of Naval 

 vessels, but with the end of the Cold War, the Navy's construction program has been 

 significantly reduced. The Navy's proposed Fiscal Year 1997-2003 shipbuilding program will 

 average less than six ships a year compared to 10 ships per year in Fiscal Year 1992-1997 and 19 



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