United States Maritime Commission
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The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the United States government that replaced the U.S. Shipping Board via the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, passed by Congress on June 29, 1936.
From 1939 through the end of World War II, MARCOM funded and administered the largest and most successful merchant shipbuilding program in American history, producing thousands of ships, including Liberty Ships, Victory Ships, and others, notably type C2 ships, type C3 ships, and type C1 ships. Many of the C2's and C3's were converted to Navy warships, notably attack cargo ships, attack transports, and escort aircraft carriers. By the end of the war, U.S. shipyards working under MARCOM's direction had built a total of 5,777 ships.
MARCOM was abolished on 24 May 1950, and its functions were split between the U.S. Federal Maritime Board which was responsible for regulating shipping and awarding subsidies for construction and operation of merchant vessels, and the United States Maritime Administration, which was responsible for administering subsidy programs, maintaining the national defense reserve merchant fleet, and operating the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
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[edit] Timeline
- 1936: Merchant Marine Act abolishes Shipping Board and establishes Maritime Commission.
- 1937: Joseph P. Kennedy appointed by President Roosevelt as the first head of the Maritime Commission
- 1938: Maritime Commission authorizes large merchant fleet
- 1940: Maritime Commission agrees to build 60 Ocean class merchant ships
- 1942: The War Shipping Administration was established
- 1942: The United States Coast Guard takes over Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation
- 1942: United States Merchant Marine Academy opens at Kings Point, Long Island, New York
- 1942: Maine Merchant Marine Academy, later named Maine Maritime Academy, opens in Castine, Maine
- 1950: Functions of Maritime Commission transferred to Department of Commerce and MARAD, United States Maritime Administration
[edit] See also
Responsibility for U.S. merchant shipping has been held by many agencies since 1917. For a history, see United States Shipping Board.
[edit] References
- Ships for Victory: A History of Shipbuilding under the U.S. Maritime Commission in World War II, by Frederic C. Lane. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8018-6752-5
[edit] External links
- United States Government Manual, 1945 United States Maritime Commission section
- 1945 Fact Sheet concerning the Commission
- http://www.us-maritime-commission.de
