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The Point of King’s Point By Peter Hurme At times it’s helpful to gain a broad, deep sense of where you’ve come from in order see the waterway ahead more clearly. A book was sitting on my “review” shelf that I had been meaning to get to, and I’m happy to report I finally gave it a read-through over the appropriately timed Memorial Day weekend. I recommend “In Peace and War: A History of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at King’s Point,” co-authored by Jeffrey Cruikshank and Chloe G. Kline, published by Wiley. The book is part of a multi-book series sponsored by the American Maritime History Project, a private non-profit foundation, which, in its words “seeks to record, preserve and communicate the 400-year story of America’s rich seafaring history.” Founded in 1937 and having trained more than 20,000 professional mariners, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy has survived and at times thrived, despite occasional unfavorable odds against its existence. During the War of 1812, there were over 40,000 American merchant seamen, more than eight times that of the Navy’s deep-sea ranks. The privateers captured 1,300 British ships, compared to 254 captured by the Navy, and in effect, decimated the British shipping industry. But of course, times changed, as they tend to do, and those graceful clipper ships would be replaced on the world stage by the iron-screw steamer. Back on the home front, the Civil War was wreaking havoc on U.S. shipping interests. The U.S. merchant fleet went into decline for the latter half of the 19th century and debates over the nation’s maritime policy went through fits and starts that ranged from the Ocean Mail Act of 1891 to the Seaman’s Act of 1915, to the more revolutionary Shipping Act of 1916. The latter Act created the U.S. Shipping Board. The Board’s mandate was “to free American shippers from the dictation of foreign owners who, on orders from belligerent governments, were directing what goods a ship could and could not carry.” The Board also was charged with ensuring the U.S. had a sufficient number of merchant vessels for transport in the event of war. Eighteen months later, 538 additional merchant vessels augmented the Navy in World War I. The Merchant Marine Act (Jones Act) soon followed, returning U.S. shipping to mostly private ownership, and providing protection for domestic shipping. In succeeding years, the need for a properly trained U.S. merchant mariner corps became a big challenge in search of a solution. There was West Point, Annapolis and the Coast Guard Academy, but no federal academy for merchant mariners. Enter Rear Admiral Richard R. McNulty, a former merchant mariner, graduate of the Massachusetts Nautical School in 1919, and member of the U.S. Shipping Board. He was determined to see the establishment of a U.S. Merchant Marine academy, demonstrated by his remark after the passenger liner SS Morro Castle caught fire off the coast of New Jersey in 1934, and the U.S. crew negligently allowed the fire to burn out of control, leading to a death toll of 134: “To again forget the value of trained men is unthinkable. Something will be done.” With fellow advocates like Franklin Delano Roosevelt to help along the way, in 1937, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy was opened at King’s Point, New York, and by 1938, graduated its first 10 mariners. Graduation numbers peaked during the Second World War when 142 cadets were lost in action. The rest, as they say, is history, and one well worth reading about right up to the present day, including the valiant academy vessel and personnel assistance to the firefighters and rescue teams during the 9/11 tragedy. The steep decline of the U.S. Merchant Marine notwithstanding, the book sums up the need for it: Ready Reserve; economic (especially on the inland water transport side); Military Sealift Command; safer transport of goods into the U.S.; specialized fleets like LNG; and a predicted global shortage of 35,000 officers. Borrowing a line from The Merchant Marine Song, let’s hope both King’s Point and our entire Merchant Marine have “a long, long way to go.” — Peter	In This Issue News, Trends & Analysis New Items One big reason for a weak global trade outlook Supply Chain Public-private partnerships: Inviting others to the table Keeping your cargo cool Compliance Corner: What you need to know about export commodity control numbers Supply Chain product review Communication technologies Features Gateway at a glance – Latin America U.S. domestic shipping looks ahead Ports & infrastructure East Coast ports and terminals moving dirt, doing deals Port Product Review Refrigeration technologies Commentary Difficult times create opportunities Who, What, Where, When Final Say
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The Point of King’s Point