Oh, okay. First of all, in case I get some of this wrong, there's an informative site here. But basically, the Merchant Marine is a civilian auxilliary of the U.S. Navy. Apparently--and I may be wrong about this, as I couldn't somehow nail this down--all U.S. flagged ships are part of the U.S. Merchant Marine, and in the event of war, become supply ships for U.S. efforts. But in the meantime, they ply their peaceful way carrying imports and exports in U.S. navigable waters. A member of the Merchant Marine is not called a merchant or a marine, but a mariner. According to Wikipedia, there were 465 ships in the Merchant Marine in 2006, and 69,000 members.
I still don't quite get whether everyone who is considered crew of these U.S. flagged ships is automatically a mariner, or just how all this stuff gets decided. And why do a portion of U.S. ships end up flying under different colors?
However, researching this post reminded me that I did know a bit about the Merchant Marine after all. The Merchant Marine is not one of the uniformed services. Who cares about that, right? Well, apparently, perception is everything. Because even though the Merchant Marine served valiently in World War II, braving many of the same high sea dangers that other branches of the military did, it wasn't until 1988 that President Ronald Reagan signed a bill into law that granted veteran status to those mariners who had served in war. Up until that point, they did not receive any of the benefits granted to other branches of the military.
It turns out that I already knew this. It was part of the story that was told in the excellent documentary The Men Who Sailed the Liberty Ships. I have to admit that I didn't connect this story to the merchant marine, but that's just me. You can check out an excerpt or two here, but do watch the whole thing if you get a chance.
.jpg)
Posts
Seana,
ReplyDeleteIt used to be a touchy subject here that those who served in Britain's 'Merchant Navy' during the war were not given the same recognition as those in the 'Royal Navy', when lost at sea because of U-boat action.
My own dad was in the Royal Navy, and he always had the highest regard for the Merchant Navy Mariners (who were often conscientious objectors that didn't mind the danger as long as it didn't involve killing others).
Thanks for the trans-Atlantic supplement Philip. And I suppose I should have said that as each country would have its own merchant marine, things might be very different in others.
ReplyDeleteYes, keeping the Atlantic supply lines open was what the Liberty ships did, and it was doing this in spite of the U-Boats that finally led the U.S. to realize that those guys weren't exactly slackers.
Philip
ReplyDeleteMy dad was in the Merchant Navy and the Royal Navy (Reserve). In the Merchant Navy he was an engineer on various BP oil tankers throughout the 50's and 60's and then he retired full time from the sea and joined the Royal Navy Reserve. So there is some cross over between the two services.
My little brother of course is still in the Royal Navy but as he's in intelligence he almost never actually goes to sea.
So maybe you guys can help me understand something I couldn't get from my internet scans. Are all the crew who work on a commercial ship that that sails under a country's flag automatically part of their merchant marine or is their a distinction between mariners and just regular staff?
ReplyDeleteOn a semi-related note--okay, it's not all that related except in my mind--I rode the bus home late the other night and there were two couples who boarded with me. They were both foreign but one was clearly Asian and the other clearly European. Still, they seemed to know each other and be happy to see each other. The Asian couple had very happily just been out to the outlet store in Gilroy. It was only when yet another woman asked the European woman if she was Dutch that it was revealed that the two couples were up at the univeristy campus studying semaphore for two weeks.
At the time, I thought it had something to do with flags at sea, but maybe it just had to do with computers. Though since they were all very happy and not talking in programming speak, I'd like to think it was flags.
Seana
ReplyDeleteIts complicated. They are part of the merchant marine of wherever the ship is registered. Many many ships are registered in Panama because registration is cheap and easy there. However in a war situation if a ship is actually owned by say a British company (but registered elsewhere) it can be requisitioned.
Requisitioning still happens. In the Falklands War the QE2 was requisitioned to transport soldiers to the the conflict.
To further confuse things the Royal Navy has a small auxiliary navy called the Royal Fleet Auxiliary which is a civilian manned fleet owned by the Ministry of Defence.
I forgot to mention my nephew Patrick who is training to be a ship's engineer in the merchant service. He laughed when my little brother told him he should join the Royal Navy. What and be sent to Afghanistan a LANDLOCKED country like you? he said, which was a fair comment I felt.
Adrian got in first, and explained it all better than I could have.
ReplyDeleteMy brother Peter joined the Royal Navy before he was married, but didn't stick it.
My dad was a teacher in Larne Technical College, before the war, was called up because he was an engineer and in the RNVR (as it was then - Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, now shortened to RNR) and then we all moved to Carrickfergus in 1948 when I was 2. Yes, the maths work out when I was born!
He taught in Carrick Tech, was called up again in the 1950s for the Korean War, and was all his life a keen RNVR man. He started up the Sea Cadets in Carrick, Adrian along with others in the RNVR, so maybe our dads crossed paths?
But, he left us all when I was about 7 (Mum and 4 boys), for another life (and woman), so at least I always had an answer when my chums asked, "where is your dad?" I could always answer truthfully, "He's in the Navy".
Philip
ReplyDeleteI dont know my dad didnt join the RNR until (1970?)
My mum went to Carrick Tech though so maybe he was her teacher.
Thanks, Adrian and Philip. I'm getting more of a sense of it. I just don't quite understand what it means when someone says, 'So I decided to join the Merchant Marine, as a Finnish acquaintance of mine recently mentioned. It sounds like you do enlist in something, but then there's the whole commercial aspect of the ship's job, so it seems like there must be an intermingling of civilian and non-civilian concerns.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it's fun to hear the not quite overlapping of your families' lives in Carrickfergus. Not sure if I should hope that Philip's dad did cross paths with Adrian's mom in the hallways of Carrick Tech or not. Or at least you haven't pointed out his better qualities, Philip.
Seana
ReplyDeleteYes enlist is too strong a word. You sign a contract on a particular ship and you are not subject to military discipline or law in the merchant marine.
Thanks--those points make it clearer. Although I do wonder what happens in wartime. War starts and you're just sued for breach of contract?
ReplyDeleteI mean, if you decide to jump ship or something.
ReplyDeleteI've never even thought how the Merchant Marines fit into it. Good topic Seana.
ReplyDeleteThanks, although I think our commenters have been a bit more informative than the original poster. Yes, it's one of those things that sound familiar enough that your mind just kind of glides over it without digging very deeply into it unless you already have some connection.
ReplyDeleteIn India we call them the Navy (naval section of the military) and the Merchant Navy (commercial ships and sailors).
ReplyDeleteHey, Sucharita--good to hear from you. It's interesting that so many countries have this kind of split, isn't it? I suppose it makes total sense--once one country has thought of it, others would see the sense of it. Although I really haven't gone back far enough to see who had the first merchant marine or navy. According to Wikipedia, the U.S. had one before it was the U.S. Barely.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure this thread is long since closed, but I am currently sailing in the Merchant Marine, and maybe I can help... The term "Merchant Marine" is kind of like a generic term for the industry as a whole, we are all merchant mariners, or just mariners. There is not military obligation, and not necessarily all ships can be drawn into federal service in the time of war or natural disaster. The Federal government (In the US) allows shipping companies to register their ships in a manner that will allow the govt to use them if needed (I suppose they might offer a discount on fees, I'm not sure about that). Typically the merchant marine is purely commercial, although there are some government ships that employ merchant mariners to operate their ships. When you sign on to a ship you do what is called signing articles. Your articles are for a period of time much like a contract, although in a national emergency your articles can be extended, but this is very rare. While you are not subject to military law (since we are not military), we are subject to Admiralty law and there are many old punishments that can still be enforced (like limited rations, restriction to the ship, docked wages), but are rarely done these days. The Merchant Marine is very important to the economies of countries and also very important for sealift capability in the case of a war or natural disaster, which is why it is important (in my mind) that more people learn about the merchant marine and hopefully go to sea to keep the merchant marine strong. I hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteEric
Eric, no, these threads never completely shut down, so at least I watch them, and I hope anyone interested in the Merchant Marine will see your informed and succinct comment. It sounds like a very interesting and challenging career path.Thanks for taking the time to write in.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteReagan was not president in 1996, but it was during his presidency that they were recognized for their services in World War II. This occurred in 1988.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the careful reading, Mike. It's been some years since I wrote this post, so I have no idea where that 1996 date came up, which even I should have known had to be wrong. I will correct it above.
Delete