Why The US Merchant Marine Is Failing

UK: 65 million
Netherlands: 17 million
Spain: 46 million
Portugal: 10 million
Scandinavia: 21 million
Total: 159 million

Yeah no.

Norway alone has a longer coastline then USA, so don’t start with the size of the land.

Who the fuck cares? They’re each independent countries with separate national identities. If Rhode Island were it’s own country they’d have a strong maritime identity also.

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Yes, but with merchant fleets many times that of USA each.

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Small US state was your words, only the Scandinavian nations are comparable to a small US states, but we are awesome and have a maritime history to speak off, so maybe not comparable afterall.

That’s not germane to my comments.

Ok, the rest are comparable to medium sized US states. Either way, my point stands.

We’re not counting Europe as a whole because it’s a continent full of separate and independent countries.

Every time you deny trolling on this forum I’d like you to remember this gem.

I think the topic of what drives a nations maritime identity, if at all, is germaine to the original point of this thread. Your Wikipedia history lesson is well known by the majority of American mariners as we have tread over and over again adnauseum on this forum.

I recently read the Matthews Men and what is described in that recounting of the battle of the Atlantic is a time gone buy along the shores of the Chesapeake where whole towns sent their men to sea for a living. Agricultural communities mind you. When you realize that back in the day the ford motor company ran a fleet of ships to bring rubber and raw materials from the amazon up to Detroit and the crews were in the 30’s, you can’t help but be nostalgic. At least I can’t. It was a thriving industrie before full on globalization took hold. Profit over all else has made some in the US very rich with no sign of slowing down but the infrastructure that drove that machine has been neglected. US maritime is in the same boat.

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Rhode Island – or more formally, The State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (where I live) had a strong maritime identity – as slave traders. The actual trade was centered in Bristol, but the whole state grew rich on the triangle trade (rum --> slaves --> molasses --> rum).

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You are nostalgic about a time when Europe was trying its hardest to wreck itself? Yeah, that time is long gone. Russia is not Germany and there are never going to be a second battle for the Atlantic.

We are maybe going to see a trade war but not with USA on the good side.

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I lay no claim to be the originator of that statement. Quoted verbatim from a high official in the US administration.

Yes I’m aware that you and many others here are well versed in US Maritime history, but there are readers from other parts of the world, even some Americans(?), who are not so well informed.

He’s right, it came from a story in Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/06/a-senior-white-house-official-defines-the-trump-doctrine-were-america-bitch/562511/

Yes in The Atlantic and just about every other news media in the world and in many different languages.
A REAL PR WIN for good ol’ USA to go with the rest of last weeks winning stunts
Are you tied of winning yet??.

Ooops, now I’m “trolling” again.

It’s not about winning, it’s about everyone else losing. Because it’s never a win win in trade :baby:

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Again, you go off topic. There are two members on this forum that could provide significant (and often do) contributions that then sour those contributions with their non-stop banter. You are one of them. You can’t help yourself, can you?

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I think this thread has lost steerage.

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