The recent Houthi-led attacks on commercial shipping have again highlighted a reality of war at sea: Merchant mariners are on the same frontline as their naval cousins—except without defensive weapon systems, extensive compartmentalization, and abundant manpower for damage control. Operation Prosperity Guardian, the multinational security initiative in the Red Sea, provides an excellent opportunity to consider what future awaits the U.S. Merchant Marine in contested waters.
Much has been written on the state of U.S.-flagged shipping and the implications for the armed forces’ sealift requirements. The need to recapitalize the Ready Reserve Force, support vessels capable of carrying militarily useful cargoes—such as through the Tanker Security Program—and shield the Jones Act against ever-present lobbying for its dismantlement is well established. But for all the discussion about whether to pursue new build capacity or procure foreign surplus vessels, much less has been said about the mariners expected to sail these ships. In fact, it may prove quicker and easier to buy sealift ships than to find the mariners to sail them.
Standing the Watch
Today, civilian mariners (CivMars) provide 100 percent of the logistical support to the Navy via the Military Sealift Command (MSC), and they are integral to the operation of command ships, submarine tenders, and expeditionary mobile bases. MSC employs approximately 1.27 CivMars per seagoing billet, which has caused significant burnout in the community as reliefs are delayed, stretching nominal four-month tours to as long as six months.1 Programs to improve sea/shore rotation and to modernize the assignment of CivMars to ships from the “pool” remain in progress. Once hostilities commence, retention can reasonably be expected to fall.
Contract mariners—who man the special mission ships, including ocean surveillance and cable-repair vessels—would have even less incentive to continue in their assignments. Employed through their union, they can grab any job off the board of their hiring hall as long as they have the seniority to claim it. Their ships often have additional requirements, such as security clearances and specialized training, that would make it even more difficult to backfill vacancies.
None of this is said to disparage merchant mariners. Today’s mariners are no less patriotic than any who have gone “down to the sea in ships,” but like the military, the Merchant Marine struggles with recruiting. Civilian mariners have been difficult to come by since the pandemic, and MSC has had to offer bonuses for mates, engineers, and radiomen when just a few years ago the same jobs might have been open only for short windows. It remains to be seen whether financial incentives alone can provide sufficient crews for ships that sail into harm’s way. The United States must secure the mariners it needs now, before the next war at sea begins.2
Relaunch the U.S. Maritime Service
Lying dormant in Title 46 of the U.S. Code is a provision for the Secretary of Transportation to establish and maintain the U.S. Maritime Service (USMS). The USMS was a short-lived organization, stood up in 1938 and largely disbanded after World War II. It focused primarily on training mariners and established schools across the country to teach radio, seamanship, and engineering skills. The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York, is the most prominent product of this effort, but the largely forgotten training station at nearby Sheepshead Bay had an annual output of 35,000 mariners during the war years.3
A modern USMS, however, must be more than a training organization. It must be codified as a full-fledged uniformed service, on par with the U.S. Public Health Service or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. An entirely reserve organization, it would be a way for eligible mariners to serve their country voluntarily while plying their profession. Benefits to the mariner should include:
• Issuance of a common access card/Geneva ID that also could serve as a transportation worker identification credential
• Waiver of fees for renewing or upgrading a merchant mariner document (license)
• Reimbursement or payment of costs for physicals required to receive a Coast Guard medical certificate
• Reimbursement or payment of costs for courses required to maintain a license, including Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) basic training, firefighting, and proficiency in survival craft
• Reimbursement or payment of costs, consistent with a period of obligated service, for training required to upgrade a license or add STCW endorsements
• Opportunities to serve on government-owned or -contracted vessels during mobilizations, such as a turbo activation, regardless of union affiliation
• Assistance in acquiring the sea days or recency needed to renew or up-grade a license
• Servicemembers Civil Relief Act protections and reemployment rights for training and activations
• Veteran status for service in hostile waters during periods of war or national emergency, including appropriate discharge for access to Veterans Administration health and disability benefits
• Pride in enabling the success of the armed forces in conflict abroad and recognition of the dangers and stresses faced by members of the Merchant Marine
For the minimal cost of these benefits, the United States could identify and organize a pool of trained, able,
and willing mariners to meet the manpower needs of emergency sealift and sustained combat operations at sea. For service in the USMS, members should be expected to:
• Sail on vessels of the MSC, Ready Reserve Force, or other government-owned or -chartered shipping in the event of mobilization
• Maintain a merchant mariner document with appropriate endorsements in good standing
• Meet the physical standards necessary to obtain and maintain a Coast Guard medical certificate
• Meet the personal conduct standards necessary to be a member of the uniformed services (and hold a merchant mariner document)
• Participate in training and drill provided by the USMS, the frequency and duration of which would be determined in collaboration with the armed forces
Reverse the Mariner to Military Pipeline
The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy produced officers for the thousands of merchant vessels needed during World War II. Today, the school has a student population of approximately 1,100. In a typical graduating class, about a third of midshipmen accept a commission and serve on active duty in the armed forces.4 They receive a license the same as other graduates, but they do not have the impact for the Merchant Marine that was perhaps intended when the school was founded.
Requiring all graduates of the Merchant Marine Academy to sail in the Merchant Marine rather than complete their service obligation in the active-duty armed forces would help the mariner labor pool. The military branches have their own sources to meet their officer accession needs. This is not to deprive aspiring merchant mariners the opportunity to serve in the military. State maritime academies have ROTC units, and the Strategic Sealift Officer Program remains an option (and does not conflict with the reestablishment of the USMS and should continue to be a bridge between the Navy and the Merchant Marine). But the Merchant Marine Academy would be the nucleus around which the USMS is reformed and, in the event, should be rededicated to that task.
For active-duty sailors, introduction to the Merchant Marine should be a matter of course. Surface warfare officers and sailors in seagoing rates all should hold merchant mariner documents with licenses and endorsements appropriate for their service. This not only would help increase sailors’ training and knowledge, but also would give them a valuable trade skill for when they leave active duty. Programs such as SkillBridge recognize the importance of a successful transition to civilian life, and the Merchant Marine should be better represented in them. Because the proposed USMS would be a uniformed service, sailors leaving active duty could be allowed to serve the balance of their reserve commitment in that organization, which would strengthen the Merchant Marine and open career options for the sailor (an opportunity that also should be available for members of the Army Watercraft program).
How the New USMS Could Be Organized
A new USMS could take whatever form best meets today’s needs, unconstrained by the past. However, there are many things that should remain the same. For example, mariners should be organized by licensed (officers) and unlicensed (enlisted). Deck officers (of unlimited tonnage) and engine officers (of unlimited horsepower) have licenses that largely mirror naval ranks and could be graded as in Table 1.
Flag officers in today’s USMS are the presidents of the Merchant Marine Academy and the various state maritime academies. The head of the Maritime Administration, the leader of the new USMS, would be another appointee. Additional flag officers would be at the discretion of the Secretary of Transportation. Paths should also be created for officers in the Steward (Purser or Supply) Department, radio operators, and other specialists such as medical doctors. For officers who hold limited licenses, such as tugboat captains and oil platform operators, and have skills desirable in the USMS, warrants might be an appropriate way to capture their service while maintaining focus on deep-sea maritime readiness.
There were seven enlisted paygrades when the original USMS was active, but unlicensed mariners generally have just two: entry level or qualified. In the Deck Department, for example, mariners are either ordinary seamen (entry level) or able seamen (qualified). While there are additional skills such as lifeboatman and tankerman, as well as international endorsements, grades in the USMS for unlicensed mariners may rely more on longevity in service and performance.
Drilling in the USMS would not be the same as in the current reserves, as the deployed nature of the job would make it impracticable. Instead, USMS units should be formed based on the distribution of the maritime workforce: primarily in coastal ports but also in the interior to serve mariners working on the Great Lakes and rivers and those who choose to affiliate even without actively sailing on their license. The Coast Guard’s Regional Exam Centers offer such an example and may even be an ideal co-location.5 USMS reserve units would be focused primarily on administration of the mariners assigned to them—tracking licenses, assisting with reimbursement, scheduling training, etc. They also could be centers for events and special instruction on topics not normally covered in the STCW curriculum. Space on Ready Reserve Force ships and empty seats in military schools offering maritime classes, such as those at MSC or the Army’s Transportation Command in Fort Eustis, Virginia, should also be maximized.
During maritime emergencies, reserve centers would serve as halls from which to deploy members. They could be used to post jobs such as seasonal manning for the various state maritime academy training ships. Supporting these centers would be a national office that coordinates funding, policy, promotions, discipline, and all the other functions required to maintain the organization. Whether at headquarters or field units, however, it is likely many of these positions would be filled by current or former mariners, providing off ramps for those who could no longer sustain a career at sea but have the skills and passion necessary to deliver the best Merchant Marine possible.
Laying the Groundwork for Success
A reestablished U.S. Maritime Service would not be a panacea for the manpower woes of the Merchant Marine. There remain many challenges facing the industry: demographics, a competitive labor market, medical readiness, and the reality that life at sea is not for everyone. But a USMS would be of great benefit for those who accept those conditions, as it would give them opportunities in times of peace and security in times of war. It would allow those who are not regularly sailing deep sea—whether a deckhand on a Mississippi towboat or a Navy veteran with their able seaman ticket—a chance to serve and then return to their regular lives when the need has passed. And it would honor and recognize merchant mariners for the vital contributions they have made to national defense, in peace and war, since 1775.
1. Maritime Administration, Maritime Workforce Working Group Report (Washington, DC: Department of Transportation, 29 September 2017).
2. Maritime Administration, Opportunities and Challenges to Increasing the Number of United States Coast Guard Credentialed Mariners (Washington, DC: Department of Transportation, 22 May 2020).
3. Captain John L. Beebe, USNR, “This Is Sheepshead Bay,” American Merchant Marine at War, USMM.org.
4. U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, “USMMA Admissions Brief.”
5. U.S. Coast Guard, Regional Exam Centers, www.dco.uscg.mil/nmc/recs/.