ABSTRACT
From the beginning of the Pacific War the United States sought to destroy, interrupt, and otherwise defeat the Japanese merchant marine. The catastrophic Japanese merchant marine losses during that war were every bit as strategically important as Japanese losses of naval vessels. The conventional wisdom has been that America must retain an independent merchant fleet capable of meeting the bulk of American strategic needs during an international conflict. In an age of jet aircraft and spaceships it seems somehow archaic to point out that modern transportation internationally, both civil and military, is still principally dependent upon boats plying the world's oceans. The declining relevance of merchant vessels to both the global economy and military power projection are cited as reasons that sea power is fading away as an aspect of state power. Recognizing the need for shipping in military power projection operations, states like China have embarked on a serious program of developing a large and diversified merchant marine.
