Category Archives: Merchant Marine

China Masses Militia Ships in Spratlys, Transit of USS Gabrielle Giffords Irks Beijing

China Masses Militia Ships in Spratlys, Transit of USS Gabrielle Giffords Irks Beijing

Chinese Maritime Militia vessels. Philippine Coast Guard Photo

Littoral Combat Ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS-10) sailed past Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed Spratly Island chain in the South China Sea, prompting an angry response from the Chinese military. Meanwhile, the Philippines issued a release on Sunday stating that more than 135 China Maritime Militia (CMM) were massing around a Philippine claimed reef in the Spratlys. Read More

Destroyer USS Carney Downs 3 Drones in Red Sea; Commercial Ships Attacked

Destroyer USS Carney Downs 3 Drones in Red Sea; Commercial Ships Attacked

USS Carney (DDG-64) transits the Suez Canal, Oct. 18, 2023. US Navy Photo

This post has been updated with an additional statement from U.S. Central Command.

Destroyer USS Carney (DDG-64) shot down three drones in the Red Sea on Sunday while responding to distress calls from several commercial vessels that were attacked by missiles originating in Yemen, according to U.S. Central Command. Read More

U.S. Maritime Industry Needs Better Business Case to Offer More Support to DoD, Says Panel

U.S. Maritime Industry Needs Better Business Case to Offer More Support to DoD, Says Panel

MARAD Ready Reserve ships MV Cape Ray (T-AKR-9679), MV Cape Rise (T-AKR-9678) in port near Naval Station Norfolk, Va., on April 6, 2023. USNI News Photo

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The U.S. commercial maritime industry needs more business incentives to make changes that support the Defense Department’s requirements for sea lift, an industry panel said this week. Read More

MARAD Head ‘Not At All Confident’ Ready Reserve Fleet Could be Crewed in a Crisis

MARAD Head ‘Not At All Confident’ Ready Reserve Fleet Could be Crewed in a Crisis

Signet Warhorse II towed Military Sealift Command’s Large, Medium-Speed, Roll-on/Roll-off (LMSR) ship USNS Yano (T-AKR 297) from Newport News Marine Terminal in Newport News, Va., to the Maritime Administration Reserve Fleet in Beaumont, Texas, where the vessel will permanently join MARAD’s Ready Reserve Force (RRF). US Navy Photo

The head of the Maritime Administration “was not at all confident” that all the ships in the Ready Reserve Fleet could be crewed if called to duty in a crisis. Read More