Healthy maritime industry vital to national security.

• Author: Hunter, Duncan D.

The old saying of "he who rules the seas rules the world" is still relevant. Throughout history, the strength and power of navies and commercial maritime fleets have made nations great. America is no different.

Our national security and economic interests are inextricably linked to the seas.

Approximately 75 percent of U.S.-international commerce moves by water, and the volume of international trade is expected to climb as the world economy rebounds. The U.S. maritime industry employs more than 260,000 Americans, providing nearly $29 billion in annual wages and accounting for more than $100 billion in annual economic output.

Beyond the important contributions to our economy, a healthy maritime industry is vital to our national security. Throughout our history, our nation has relied on a strong shipyard industrial base and robust fleet of U.S. flag commercial vessels crewed by American merchant mariners to build naval assets and carry troops, weapons and supplies to the battlefield.

In World War II, U.S. shipyards built nearly 6,000 sealift vessels to resupply our forces on the battlefield and allied civilian populations in their homes. The merchant marine sailing these vessels paid a high price, as 733 ships were sunk and 5,638 merchant mariners were lost. During Operation Desert Storm, more than 350 U.S. flag vessels delivered an average of 42,000 tons of cargo each day. At the height of the activity, there was a ship every 50 miles--a "steel bridge"--along an 8,000-mile sea lane between the United States and the Persian Gulf During Operations Enduring. Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, U.S. flag commercial vessels transported 63 percent of all military cargos moved to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Over the course of these and other conflicts, we have learned that we cannot rely on foreign flag vessels to resupply U.S. troops defending our nation on foreign battlefields.

During World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, certain foreign nations refused to allow vessels flying their flags to move cargo for the United States and our allies. During Operation Desert Storm, the United States led a worldwide coalition with almost unlimited access to staging areas, modern ports and infrastructure, and to vessels and crews of many nations. Even then, however, some foreign flag vessels and crews refused to enter the Persian Gulf or carry coalition cargo.

Our history has proven how vital it is that we maintain a robust fleet of U.S. flagged vessels to carry...