Evolution of the World Maritime Industry: The Flow of Material to Future Theaters of War
Abstract
Strategic mobility is critical to the success of U.S. national strategy. Historically, U.S. defense commitments have been geographically dispersed requiring sophisticated logistics systems capable of transporting vast amounts of material to distant theaters. Almost all of this material has been transported by sealift. With growing budgetary constraints and reductions in military sealift assets, a growing percentage of U.S. strategic sealift requirements are being satisfied through the use of commercial assets. While available sealift capacity appeared adequate in past contingency operations like Desert Shield and Desert Storm, these may be unique cases and not representative of environments in which future contingency operations will be conducted. Since the Gulf War, the commercial shipping industry has evolved. This evolution has been driven by economic forces and requires planners to re-evaluate the role of and means by which commercial shipping can be best utilized to fill strategic sealift requirements in the future. Future sealift plans must be dynamic and evolve with the international commercial shipping industry. The impact of the globalization of the commercial shipping industry, intermodalization, the decline of the U.S. Flag Fleet and the shift in the international maritime labor pool must be factored into all future strategic sealift plans. TRANSCOM must develop new techniques and procedures to make more efficient use of commercial intermodal systems is to meet future strategic sealift requirements.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 05, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA389725
Entities
People
- Scott C. Gover
Organizations
- Naval War College