Portal:United States Merchant Marine

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The United States Merchant Marine Portal

The United States Merchant Marine consists of the nation's fleet of non-millitary merchant ships and the people who operate them. Operated by the government or by private owners, these ships transport goods and passengers both domestically and internationally. In time of war, the merchant marine is an auxiliary to the Navy, and can be called upon to deliver troops and supplies for the military.

As of 2006, the United States merchant fleet consisted of 465 ships of 1,000 gross register tons (GRT) and over and approximately 69,000 people known generically as merchant mariners. Seven hundred ships owned by American interests but registered, or flagged, in other countries are not included in this number.

Shortcut: P:USMM

The federal government maintains fleets of merchant ships via organizations such as Military Sealift Command and the National Defense Reserve Fleet. In 2004, the Federal government employed approximately 5% of all American water transportation workers.

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Selected article

USS Orizaba (ID-1536/AP-24) was a transport ship for the United States Navy during both World War I and World War II. She was the sister ship of Siboney but the two were not part of a ship class. She was also known as USAT Orizaba in service for the United States Army, as SS Orizaba in interwar civilian service for the Ward Line, and as Duque de Caxias (U-11) as an auxiliary in the Brazilian Navy after World War II.

Orizaba, originally laid down as Vendado, made 15 transatlantic voyages for the Navy carrying troops to and from Europe in World War I, and had the second shortest average in-port turnaround time of all Navy transports. The ship was turned over to the War Department in 1919 for use as Army transport USAT Orizaba. After her World War I service ended, Orizaba reverted to the Ward Line, her previous owners. The ship was briefly engaged in transatlantic service to Spain and then engaged in New York–Cuba–Mexico service until 1939, when the ship was chartered to United States Lines. While Orizaba was in her Ward Line service, American poet Hart Crane leapt to his death from the rear deck of the liner off Florida in April 1932.

During World War II, the ship was requisitioned by the War Shipping Administration and again assigned to the War Department as USAT Orizaba. After completing one voyage as an Army transport, the ship was transferred to the US Navy, where she was re-commissioned as USS Orizaba (AP-24). The ship made several transatlantic runs, was damaged in an air attack during the Allied invasion of Sicily, and made trips to South America. The transport also served in the Pacific Theatre, making several transpacific voyages, and one to the Aleutians.

In June 1945, Orizaba was transferred to the Brazilian Navy under Lend-Lease where she served as Duque de Caxias (U-11). In August 1945, Duque de Caxis carried parts of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force from Naples back to Rio de Janeiro. The ship was badly damaged by a fire in 1947, but was repaired and remained in service. Permanently transferred to Brazil in 1953, Duque de Caxias was decommissioned in 1959 and scrapped in 1963.

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Selected picture

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View of the forecastle of a container ship while suspended high above by a cargo crane.

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News

• June 8: Eight dead and two missing after cargo ship fire in Kaliningrad, Russia
• May 28: New Jersey court rules Spanish citizens can sue over ship asbestos
• May 19: At least 728 rescued from burning Indonesian ferry
• May 16: Asbestos controversy aboard Scientology ship Freewinds
• February 7: Turkish ship on fire off Croatia

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Selected biography

Francis "Frank" Sinkwich (October 10, 1920 – October 22, 1990) won the 1942 Heisman Trophy as a player for the University of Georgia, making him the first recipient from the Southeastern Conference. Sinkwich was born in the Pittsburgh suburb of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, to immigrant parents who were ethnic Croatians from Russia. When he was still a child, his family relocated to Youngstown, Ohio, a steel-manufacturing center near the Pennsylvania border.

After his collegiate career, Sinkwich joined the United States Marine Corps; however, he received a medical discharge in order to play with the Detroit Lions as their number one pick in the NFL Draft in 1943. In Detroit, he earned All-Pro honors in 1943-1944, as well as being named as NFL MVP in 1944.^[1]

After his two years in Detroit, Sinkwich served in both the United States Merchant Marines and the United States Army Air Forces, but a knee injury received while playing for the 2nd Air Force service team in 1945 ended his playing career.

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Did you know...

• ...that the U.S. Department of Defense pays the owners of the MV Baffin Strait (T-AK W9519) (pictured) $12,550 per day to carry cargo from Singapore to Diego Garcia?
  Archive

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The U.S. Fleet

465 ships (1,000 gross register tons (GRT) or over) are registered under the Flag of the United States. This amounts to a total of 10,590,325 GRT, or a capacity of 13,273,133 metric tons of deadweight (DWT).

Dry Cargo Ships		Tanker ships
Bulk ships	67	Chemical tanker ships	20
Barge carrier	7	Specialized tanker ships	1
Cargo ship	91	Petroleum tanker ships	76
Container ships	76
Roll-on/Roll-off ships	27	Passenger ships
Refrigerated cargo ships	3	General passenger ships	19
Vehicle carrier	20	Combined passenger/cargo	58

Foreign-owned ships registered in U.S. (51): Australia 2, Canada 4, Denmark 24, Germany 2, Greece 1, Malaysia 4, Netherlands 4, Norway 2, Singapore 2, Sweden 5, Taiwan 1.

U.S.-owned ships registered abroad (700): Antigua and Barbuda 7, Australia 3, Bahamas 121, Belize 5, Bermuda 27, Cambodia 8, Canada 2, Cayman Islands 41, Comoros 2, Cyprus 7, Greece 1, Honduras 1, Hong Kong 21, Ireland 2, Isle of Man 3, Italy 15, North Korea 3, South Korea 7, Liberia 93, Luxembourg 3, Malta 3, Marshall Islands 143, Netherlands 13, Netherlands Antilles 1, Norway 13, Panama 94, Peru 1, Philippines 8, Portugal 1, Puerto Rico 3, Qatar 1, Russia 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 21, Sierra Leone 1, Singapore 7, Spain 7, Sweden 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, United Kingdom 6, Vanuatu 1, Wallis and Futuna 1. 2006 estimates.

Source: This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.

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Major topics

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Related Wikiprojects

Transport	Ships	Aussie Maritime	Irish Maritime	Knots
Lighthouses	Maritime Trades	MilHist Maritime	Ports	Shipwrecks

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