War Shipping Administration News

Education for the next generation, employment for life. A new source of talent emerges for maritime stakeholders everywhere. Primary and secondary maritime schools are sprouting up across the country, inspiring K-12 students to learn about the exciting, yet sometimes obscured domestic waterfront. The goals of these maritime school programs are many and multifaceted, but at the core they motivate and engage students by bringing something new and exciting to the classroom while giving teachers an effective means for capturing the attention of their classes.

The design and construction of WWII Liberty cargo ships revolutionized shipbuilding by overhauling the blueprint process and standardizing on commonality of parts, welding, pre-fabrication and assembly line construction. Give me Liberty, or give me death!” a rallying cry of the Revolutionary War, got a second act in World War II. “Built by the mile and chopped off by the yard,” Roosevelt promised the no-frills Liberties would form a “bridge of ships” across the Atlantic. And they did. An exaggeration perhaps, but in truth, the Liberty wasn’t much to write home about.

1867-  As ordered by the Treasury Department, each officer of Revenue Cutter Service, while on duty, was entitled to one Navy ration per day. 1871- Congress passed 16 Stat. 458 which addressed shortcomings in previous legislation regarding the inspection and certification of steamboats and their crews. This Act established the Steamboat Inspection Service within the Department of Treasury headed by a Supervisory Inspector General answerable to the Treasury Secretary. The Act also provided SIS inspectors with greater authority over more aspects of the maritime field. 1942- Certain duties of former Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation transferred to Coast Guard temporarily by Executive Order 9083. The transfer was made permanent on July 16, 1946. Also, the U.S.

1914-Pursuant to the Convention for Safety at Sea in London, President Woodrow Wilson directed that the Revenue Cutter Service undertake the task of manning the International Ice Patrol. Henceforth, the Revenue Cutter Service and then the Coast Guard, with brief respites during both World Wars, served in this capacity. 1942- Presidential order created the War Shipping Administration which assumed control over all phases of merchant marine activities. 1943-During a fierce convoy battle near Greenland, USS Ingham, CG, rescued 33 survivors from the torpedoed troopship SS Henry Mallory while USS Bibb, CG, rescued 202. Bibb then rescued 33 from the torpedoed SS Kalliopi.

Don Horton of North Carolina started his career on barges during World War II at the age of 10. His father, mother, sister and brothers all worked on U.S. merchant marine coastwise tugs and barges during the war. In 1942 his eldest brother, William Lee Horton, Jr., was killed when a German U-boat attacked his tug, nine miles of the coast of Virginia. The Merchant Mariners Act of 1988 granted veterans status to merchant mariners who served during WWII. However, the small group of merchant mariners who served on tugs and barges…

1789-An act of Congress provided for the registering and clearing of vessels and the regulation of the coastwise trade, thus laying the foundation of American navigation laws which, until 1912, embodied the marine policy of the United States. 1894-An armed guard of Revenue Cutter Service personnel were placed on the Pribiloff Islands to protect seals. 1938-The Coast Guard assumed responsibility for the Maritime Service. 1939-The armed forces of Nazi Germany invaded Poland, beginning World War II. 1942- On 1 September 1942 Joseph C. Jenkins was given a temporary promotion to warrant officer (Boatswain); becoming the first African-American warrant officer in the Coast Guard.

The world and the American maritime industry have changed dramatically since one of America's darkest hours, World War II, when United Seamen's Service was born to aid exhausted, wounded and battle-traumatized merchant seafarers in faraway places and unsafe harbors. It was 1942, 65 years ago, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the maritime unions and management recognized the need to provide havens and facilities in more than 125 worldwide locations for rest, recreation and safety for those seafarers who carried troops and war materials to ports in the war zones. Today, while war zones still dot the world, technology has changed the way shipping does business.

The world and the American maritime industry have changed dramatically since one of America's darkest hours, World War II, when United Seamen's Service was born to aid exhausted, wounded and battle-traumatized merchant seafarers in faraway places and unsafe harbors. It was 1942, 65 years ago, when President Franklin D. ports in the war zones. Today, while war zones still dot the world, technology has changed the way shipping does business. Small, run-down harbors where ships stayed in port for weeks at a time are today sprawling clean computer-run facilities where the vessels may turn around in less than a day. Nevertheless, USS services are still needed in the eight strategic locations where the mission is continued and the commitment to the fourth arm of defense remains a constant.

In honor of National Maritime Day, U.S. Congressman Elijah E. "As the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, I am honored to take the opportunity afforded by National Maritime Day to pay tribute to our nation's Merchant Mariners and to the entire maritime industry. "I also honor the tireless work of the men and women of the United States Coast Guard, who ensure the safety and security of our nation's ports, who protect our economic interests in the maritime environment around the world, and who every year, save the lives of thousands of mariners in distress. "In 1933, the United States first honored our Merchant Marine by authorizing the designation of May 22 as National Maritime Day.

"MSC has been conspicuous because its people and ships generally have been where the action has been." Rear Adm. Rear Adm. Keener made this observation on the U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command's 30th anniversary in October 1979. His words still hold true 20 years later as MSC, the ocean transportation specialists for the Department of Defense, celebrates its 50th anniversary. Today, MSC operates about 120 ships worldwide with 100 more ships in reserve status. What sets MSC ships apart from other Navy ships is all MSC ships are crewed by civil service or contract merchant mariners instead of active duty Navy people. Using civilian crews frees active duty Navy personnel for more traditional war-fighting assignments. MSC ships wear many hats for DOD.

"MSC has been conspicuous because its people and ships generally have been where the action has been." Rear Adm. Rear Adm. Keener made this observation on the U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command's 30th anniversary in October 1979. His words still hold true 20 years later as MSC, the ocean transportation specialists for the Department of Defense, celebrates its 50th anniversary. Today, MSC operates about 120 ships worldwide with 100 more ships in reserve status. What sets MSC ships apart from other Navy ships is all MSC ships are crewed by civil service or contract merchant mariners instead of active duty Navy people. Using civilian crews frees active duty Navy personnel for more traditional war-fighting assignments. MSC ships wear many hats for DOD.