ABSTRACT
The United States liner fleet as measured by a number of indicators has been in a state of decline for some time. The development of a consistent United States maritime policy has suffered from a combination of factors including: low priority status of maritime affairs within the government, fragmentation of responsibility for marine affairs within government and fragmentation of the non-governmental maritime community and the vastly different directions of proposed prescriptions. Government responsibility for maritime affairs has been spread among several executive branch bodies. Non-governmental maritime interests such as shipowners, shipyards, shippers, and labor unions have been sharply divided as to the future course of United States maritime policy. The regulation of the United States liner trade is governed primarily by the Shipping Act of 1916 as amended. The United States flag liner fleet faces a vastly changing environment in which capital intensity, by virtue of the need for new unit load vessels, is ever more evident.
