WAR AT SEA !!!!

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SHIPPING & GLOBALIZATION

An Incident first to Understand the relationship................................

In the Early of 2016, The Major South Korean Shipping Company Hanjin filed for bankruptcy.

The collapse of the company, which had specialized in th container shipping, Left much of its fleet marooned at sea.

More than 60 Ships with Cargoes & Sailors were involved. If the ships went to port, it was likely that the creditors would attempt to seize the vessels.

Some ports were unwilling to admit Hanjin Ships out of fear that the company would not be able to pay the costs of docking and unloading or that the vessels with disputed ownership would occupy valuable berths for long periods of time.

One of the reason for this was the fact that Hanjin was a leading shipping company - Controlling the Seventh largest Container Fleet in the World.

Another Reason and the one that brought the case into non-business media outlets-was the timing of the incident. The Hanjin Ships were carrying goods intended to fill shop shelves before the Christmas period. A number of large retailers in Europe and North America feared that thousands of containers with valuable cargo on their way from Asia would not reach their destinations on time.

WAS HANJIN REALLY THE GRINCH THAT WOULD STEAL ??????

The incident found a temporary solution and Christmas was saved.

However, there are several aspects of the Hanjin debacle that illuminate the topics that we deal today in 2023.

1. The Crucial role that foreign trade plays in the economies of the most nations. (Shipping is Crucial role in ensuring the smooth operation of this trade system).
2. How East Asian Economies have managed to obtain a central position in the Global production system - Supplying finished goods to consumer markets in Europe & North America.
3. In the above incident as Company was South Korean illustrates that not only manufacturing production but also a service industry such as Shipping has increasingly moved towards Asia.
4. Finally the Sheer amount of Cargo Involved is a testament to the manner in which the shipping industry has grown in 2023 where Ships and Companies have become ever larger.

WHAT SHIPPING HAS DONE FOR THE WORLD ?

Shipping is both an Example and Engine of Globalization in 2023.

• The Shipping industry experienced and pioneered, mirrored and enabled key developments that led to the present day Globalized Economy.
• Shipping was among the first industries exposed to fierce globalized competition.
• The Shipping industry pioneered many of the organizational models and mechanisms that characterize the current corporate landscape.
• The slicing up of the value chain and the strategic location of business functions is one example, the use of Low-Cost & Low-Tax Jurisdictions often in small countries "OFFSHORE" is another.
• Many business strategies and dynamics in shipping reflected those in the wider economy : Strategic Management, Outsourcing, The focus on core business.
• As the main means of production-The Ship-is mobile, questions of Nationality and legal domicile are far more complex in shipping than in other industries.
• This increasingly transnational nature of the industry in turn stimulated the emergence of new forms of Global Governance.
• Cheap mass transport - First for bulk commodities and Oil and then for General Cargo, Underpinned the growth of world trade, the migration of production to Asia's Newly Industrialized Countries and the emergence of Complex global supply chains.

WAR & MERCHANT NAVY - A History Lesson

During both World Wars , Germany operated a policy of.

"Unrestricted Submarine Warfare" or "Sinking Merchant Vessels on Sight"

By the end of the World War - I more than 3000 British flagged Merchant and Fishing Vessels had been sunk & Nearly 15,000 Merchant seamen had died.

During World War - II 4700 British flagged Ships were sunk & more than 29000 Merchant Seamen died.

Have you ever heard of the Z-Men ???

The Z-Men are the guys without whom General "l ke's" Army & Admiral Nimitz's Navy could not live..... Z-Men are the men of the Merchant Marine.

Drawing from the name of the identification papers or Z-Card required of the men who served in the US Merchant Marine.

The Hundreds of thousands of men who enlisted to sail on merchant ships across the Pacific & Atlantic. The mariners or Private seamen whom the US Government could use for defense measures during times of Conflict.

• Supplied Allied Operations in all theaters of the war with troops & Crucial supplies including fuel and Ammunition.

Never Knowing when a torpedo might smash the hull & Send thousands of tons of Sea water in to snuff out their lives.

The Courage of the Merchant Marine and their Importance for an Allied Victory.

General Douglas MacArthur credited mariners with playing a vital role in the Liberation of the Philippines in 1945. Holding " No branch in Higher Esteem than the Merchant Marine.

General Dwight Eisenhower also declared in 1944 that " When Final Victory is ours there is No Organization that will share its credit more deservedly than the Merchant marine. Their Contribution to final victory will be long remembered. "

Eisenhower predicted in 1945. Yet many decades passed before mariners were to be recognized as Veterans.

BUT WHY THE PRAISE ??????

There were 2,43,000 Mariners that served in the War and 9,521 perished while serving- A higher proportion of those killed than any other branch of the US Military.

Roughly 4 % of the those who served were killed a higher casualty rate than that of any of the America Military Services during World War II.

There were 733 Merchant Marine Ships sunk due to enemy attacks and the Japanese captured 609 Mariners as Prisoners of War.

The Germans & Japanese sank 6 Ships manned by the Merchant Marine in 1941 before Pearl Harbour making mariners some of the first American Casualties of the growing Global Conflict.

But Why Not Glory ?

• Mariners risked their lives supplying the various branches of the Armed Forces & Joint Operations with the tools needed to win the war.

But BEHIND THE SCENES Logistical work, Public Misunderstanding over their Service Status & Rumors of their demands for Labor Rights contributed to Mariners Failing to Receive their much earned recognition for their Courage.

MERCHANT MARINE ACT-1936

The Depression and Growing concern amongst US Leaders for the Fate of International Shipping during growing tensions in Europe prompted President Franklin D. Roosevelt to reconsider the importance of a Merchant Marine. Seeking to Subsidize shipping Companies that were necessary for trade yet suffering from Profit Losses under tariffs, FDR signed the Merchant Marine Act in 1936.

• This Act established the Maritime Commission that would oversee a Multi-Year Shipbuilding Program to replace the old and outdated fleet from World War-I.
• Granted subsidies to American-flagged, Private Ships to be on standby for defense purposes.
• These ships would be used for trade during Peacetime but available for the Navy to use during times of War or National Emergency.
• The Act also established a federal, Comprehensive training program for Merchant Seamen.
• Previously, Men seeking to learn the trade attended private Nautical training Schools aboard ships loaned by the Navy.

The Merchant Marine Act cleared the way for the creation of the Merchant Marine Cadet Corp in 1938.

OUTBREAK OF WAR IN EUROPE - WORLD WAR II

However, World War II would soon make the Merchant Marine significant for Security & Defense.

BEGINNING with the Neutrality Act of 1939, American Ships were barred from carrying War Material purchased with Cash by belligerent Countries and had the unintended effect of Pushing now unemployed Seamen with fewer work opportunities into the Merchant Marine Corps.

This was strengthened by the Lend-Lease Act of 1941 that allowed the United States to lend or Lease War supplies to any Country

"Vital to the Defense of the United States"

The Merchant Marine now took on a More crucial, yet Dangerous role in transporting the Goods produced by the United States overseas to allies.

Shipping became an integral part of both German & Allied strategy early in the War.

German Submarines attacked British Merchant Ships in the Atlantic, Disrupting supply chains to America's Allies. As a Result of these attacks, Merchant Mariners experienced some of the Earliest Action of the War.

• On 21st December 1940 - The German Submarine U-68 torpedoed "SS Charles Prat" off the coast of West Africa without warning while its crew was transporting oil from Aruba to Freetown killing 2 Merchant Mariners aboard.
• In Response to attacks like these, FDR ordered the Mass production of Cargo Ships designed to carry large quantities of War Material in January of 1941. Those mass produced ships were known as Liberty Ships.

Later September, FDR requested Congress lift the Ban on Arming Merchant Vessels and the First Liberty Ship - SS Patrick Henry was launched later that Month.

The Slow moving Ships and the Civilian Merchant Mariners who maneuvered them were easy targets for enemy fire.

• On 7th December 1941, The Japanese submarine I-26 torpedoed "SS Cynthia Olson" manned by mariners and transporting lumber for the Army from Tacoma Washington to Honolulu. All Aboard Perished.

On the Same day, The US Navy ordered SS President Harrison to evacuate a group of Mariners from Beijing following the Pearl Harbor Attack but the Japanese attacked the ship and took 167 Mariners Prisoner.

• In Response, FDR established the War Shipping Administration (WSA) on 7th February 1942 designed as a " Temporary War Agency" responsible for acquiring control over & operating all American Merchant Vessels other than those assigned to the Army and Navy. The WSA took control of all offshore merchant vessels under various charters & coordinated and also instituted a New Ship-Building Program to replace the clunky Liberty ships with more agile Victory ships.

The Dangers of Civilian Mariners However remained as they were plunged into some of the most dangerous missions transporting war goods and men across the Pacific & the Atlantic.

EFFORTS OF THE MERCHANT MARINE

Rumors about the nefarious motives of the Mariners for signing up circulated among the public as well as Soldier, Sailors and Mariners.

• One was that members of the Merchant Mariner were draft dodgers, looking for deferments from "Real" Service. But according to the draft board service in the Merchant Marine was tantamount to Military service-even if it was not formally recognized as such-and that "Men found by the Local Board to be actively engaged at Sea may well be considered as engaged in active defense of the Country. Providing Logistical support, while not combat was still service".
• Many Mariners were former Longshoremen & Members of Unions, Some Servicemen & Journalists suggested that they used their Worker's Right to shirk their Duties.
• On 21st January 1943, the Akron Beacon Journal reported that "6 battle-scarred veterans of Guadalcanal have come back to Akron with the incredible claims that their buddies have been forced to unload their own supplies from a Merchant ship on that island battleground because of the refusal of civilian crew men to work on SUNDAY.
• Vessel anchored 2 Miles Off Guadalcanal on a Saturday afternoon and the crew onboard only unloaded supplies for 2 hours before quitting because they refused to work on a Weekend. The Beacon Journal reported that "Hungry, Malaria weakened and in some cases slightly wounded mariners fed up on a rice diet & lack of supplies were forced to put out in their own barges to get supplies on Sunday.
• An Investigation into the matter by the Navy, however proved that no such incident had occurred and this was clearly a misunderstanding on part of the mariners.
• First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt proclaimed "Without our Merchant Marine this war could not be won & it is greatly to our interest to make the life of our merchant seamen a worthwhile existence in the future because I believe we are going to need our ships to sail the 7 Seas".
• FDR repeatedly praised the Merchant Marine & Their skill and determination will keep open the highway to victory and unconditional surrender. While signing the GI Bill in June 1944, he also trusted that Congress will soon provide similar opportunities to members of the Merchant Marine who have risked their lives time and time again during war for the welfare of their country.
• The work of the Merchant Marine did not end when the war did, as they continued to transport men (Including Prisoner of War) and Supplies needed for the occupation of Japan as they refused to give up their fight for veterans status.
• Department of Defense maintained that mariners did not qualify as veterans not because their duties were not perilous but because they did not meet its criteria based upon training and the organization of the service.
• In 1988, US District Judge ruled that the Department of Defense's views were arbitrary and unfair prompting recognition of mariners who served in specific defense capabilities between 1941-1945 as veterans and eligible for GI Bill benefits.

The Stories of Merchant Marine veterans like Edward Woods & Louis Taix are told in the Museum's Merchant Marine gallery & Continue to gain recognition through the Work of Historians like William Geroux. The hope of so many World War II leaders that the legacy of the Merchant Marine and its role in an Allied Victory would be remembered is finally realized.