Definition: Merchant marine may be defined as all ships engaged in the carriage of goods; or all commercial vessels (as opposed to all nonmilitary ships), which excludes tugs, fishing vessels, offshore oil rigs, etc. This entry contains information in four fields - total, ships by type, foreign-owned, and registered in other countries.
Total includes the number of ships (1,000 GRT or over), total DWT for those ships, and total GRT for those ships. DWT or dead weight tonnage is the total weight of cargo, plus bunkers, stores, etc., that a ship can carry when immersed to the appropriate load line. GRT or gross register tonnage is a figure obtained by measuring the entire sheltered volume of a ship available for cargo and passengers and converting it to tons on the basis of 100 cubic feet per ton; there is no stable relationship between GRT and DWT.
Ships by type includes a listing of barge carriers, bulk cargo ships, cargo ships, chemical tankers, combination bulk carriers, combination ore/oil carriers, container ships, liquefied gas tankers, livestock carriers, multifunctional large-load carriers, petroleum tankers, passenger ships, passenger/cargo ships, railcar carriers, refrigerated cargo ships, roll-on/roll-off cargo ships, short-sea passenger ships, specialized tankers, and vehicle carriers.
Foreign-owned are ships that fly the flag of one country but belong to owners in another.
Registered in other countries are ships that belong to owners in one country but fly the flag of another.
Source: CIA World Factbook - Unless otherwise noted, information in this page is accurate as of January 1, 2012
See also: Merchant marine mapRelated News
Veteran joined Merchant Marine during World War II to 'help save the country’
Star-Banner - 5/6/2013 12:45:26 AM
Elmore "Elmo" Berthelot joined the Merchant Marine at age 16. Just months after signing up, he was on the high seas en route to England and France with troops and critical supplies, vulnerable to enemy attack during World War II. “I wanted to see the ...
MICHAEL JEWELL, Boston: Support jobs through U.S. Merchant Marine
Patriot Ledger - 5/14/2013 1:47:32 AM
It guarantees our country a base of highly skilled merchant mariners prepared ... It’s time to support pro-job policies and stop attacking the U.S. Merchant Marine. Every day American workers face threats to the security of their jobs.
Letters: IRS, sex abuse and the Merchant Marines
The Star-Ledger - NJ.com (blog) - 5/17/2013 1:32:39 PM
"Child abuse, again" (editorial, May 15) correctly states that all suspected child abuse should be reported, and failure to report cannot be tolerated. The editorial links Penn State University, the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Jewish community for ...
New License Plates Available for Paratroopers, WWII Merchant Mariners
Wayne Independent - 5/6/2013 6:03:23 PM
"These new plates recognize the added challenges faced by the brave service members who served with our nation's military airborne units and those who served with the Merchant Marines during World War II," said PennDOT Secretary Barry J.
Merchant Marine Academy alumni to honor National Maritime Day
theday.com - 4/29/2013 7:34:36 AM
New London — The Connecticut Shoreline Chapter of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Alumni Foundation will honor National Maritime Day at New London’s Merchant Marine Memorial on Wednesday, May 22. The public is invited to attend the memorial service at ...
US Marines pack up in Afghanistan as Taliban wages spring offensive
NBCNews.com - 5/11/2013 11:55:22 PM
(In the military RIP stands for “Relief in Place” – not “Rest In Peace”). This was nothing less than the end of an era – U.S. Marines had been active in Helmand since the spring of 2008, when a pre-surge Marine company inserted by ...
Marines train for expanded embassy guard program
CNN - 5/11/2013 1:08:08 AM
Marine security guards are currently posted at embassies and consulates in 137 countries, with a total of 152 compounds being protected. The Corps works directly with the State Department to determine locations Marines will guard. State ...
Obama Aims Budget Torpedo at Merchant Mariner Unions
Democratic Underground.com - 5/13/2013 10:31:16 AM
Unions believe the Obama administration's proposed changes to a U.S. humanitarian food aid program could mean a loss of jobs for upward of 1,200 Merchant Marine personnel ... a way to benefit undernourished countries, would idle U.S. shipping ...
New Logan Heights Veterans Memorial dedicated in Chicano Park
KGTV 10 - 5/19/2013 12:30:01 AM
SAN DIEGO - After more than four and a half years of waiting, a new veterans memorial was dedicated Saturday at Chicano Park. The Logan Heights Veterans Memorial has the insignias of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, along with the ...
The Mississippi Marine Brigade
New York Times Blogs - 5/18/2013 12:31:12 AM
and Walling’s Light Artillery Battery. The first two units were raised in Missouri, while the artillery battery was organized in Ellet’s home state of Pennsylvania. Like the Ellet ram fleet, which would be used to transport the brigade along ...
10 Years and Another World Later
The Huffington Post - 5/16/2013 7:17:26 PM
When I finished my prison sentence, I returned in February 2004 to a San Francisco that was issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples ... get together to organize Another World? Check out video here. This Blogger's Books from Letters from Young ...
Environmental group says marine phosphate mining cannot be sustained by Namibia
Miningweekly.com - 5/16/2013 9:26:16 PM
The Namibian marine environment cannot accommodate a viable fishing industry and the disruptive exercise of marine phosphate mining, says environmental lobby group Swakopmund Matters. “Either one or the other can thrive – not both,” says ...
Kenneth K. Christopher 1927-2013
Warren Tribune Chronicle - 5/18/2013 10:42:39 PM
He enjoyed pheasant hunting, camping and following the West Virginia University basketball and football teams. Ken loved life and ... will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at Mount Zion Church. Military honors will follow in the Mount Zion Cemetery, where Ken ...
Marine Harvest tries to coax Cermaq into merger
FIS - 5/7/2013 3:39:02 PM
and increased diversification across countries which should slash biological risk over time. The company said it would continue all business areas in both firms. Currently, Marine Harvest takes up 22 per cent of the market capitalisation of publicly listed ...
Miani Hor suggested as country’s first marine protected area
DAWN Group - 5/6/2013 1:35:33 AM
On the rationale behind the recommendation of declaring Miani Hor as a marine protected area, the report says that 193 countries signed the Convention on Biological Diversity that required each country to set up at least 10pc of coastal and ...
