Restoring American Maritime Power? Call-UP the Merchant Marine and Coast Guard
The MOC
The annual Secretaries Cup football game at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT.
Center for Maritime Strategy
By Nikki E. Corbett, Corydon F. Heard IV
Natural Rivals
There is no spectacle in college sports that surmounts the time-honored tradition that is the Army-Navy Game. This storied rivalry, first played in 1890 and known as “America’s Game,” between the Army Black Knights of the U.S. Military Academy and the Navy Midshipmen of the U.S. Naval Academy, is a long standing interservice tradition that has endured continuously since 1930. Drawing an average of 9.4 million viewers in 2024, the contest exceeds institutional custom through the manifestation of American competitiveness as a celebration of military excellence and duty to country.
While unique in terms of magnitude, however, it is no more consequential than the lesser known “Secretaries’ Cup,” which features the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Mariners and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Bears. By comparison, it is this modest match-up that transcends the true spirit of public service inherent to the overall security of the United States and underlying effectiveness of the Armed Forces in both peace and war. In this respect, the annual event is a commemoration of the fundamental association between two mainstays of the maritime domain; the Merchant Marine, which predates the Continental Army, and the Coast Guard, the Nation’s oldest continuous seagoing service. Advancing this key partnership is essential to restoring American maritime power.
The Lineup
The relationship between the Merchant Marine and the Coast Guard is more than collegial. It is interdependent. As with all branches of the armed forces, the Coast Guard depends on the Merchant Marine to deliver resources around the globe. With over 85 percent of the joint force based in the continental United States, 90 percent of military cargo depends on sealift for transportation as the United States confronts persistent threats across multiple domains around the globe. Symbiotically, the Coast Guard facilitates defense readiness worldwide through its critical role and oversight of the Merchant Marine and Sealift fleets. Through the superintendence of the Merchant Marine, the Coast Guard credentials American mariners and certifies the seaworthiness of the Ready Reserve Force (RRF), naval auxiliaries, and the U.S. commercial fleet, which together comprise the American Registry. In this sense, the Coast Guard serves as the global leader for safe and lawful shipping, linking national security with commercial capacity.
The Gridiron
International shipping is responsible for transporting approximately 90 percent of world trade. Over the last decade, the industry’s center of mass has shifted dramatically toward the world’s largest trading nation as China’s foreign trade reached $5.87 trillion, 95 percent of which is transported by sea. In doing so, China surpassed Greece to become the world’s largest ship-owning nation in terms of both total fleet value and gross tonnage accounting for more than 249.2 million gross tons. Chinese financial institutions now hold $100 billion worth of vessel assets, which is approximately a quarter of the world fleet. This accounts for almost 6,000 commercial ships, compared to less than 200 U.S. vessels. In addition, China is now the biggest shipbuilding nation by gross tonnage and possessor of the largest navy, coast guard, and distant-water fishing operation by fleet size.
By contrast, the once-powerful U.S. shipbuilding industry has all but evaporated, producing less than one percent of the world’s commercial tonnage. Moreover, the number of U.S.-flag cargo ships trading internationally has fallen into obscurity, leaving only about 90 ships actively moving waterborne commerce in foreign trade. This deficit directly impacts the requirements for sealift-qualified mariners as a function of the U.S.-flagged fleet size. The size of the U.S.-flagged fleet determines the number and type of job opportunities available to American mariners with spillover effects on training pipelines and accession points. In a war or national crisis, a full-scale sealift activation would include the RRF, naval auxiliaries, and the commercial fleet—all of which draw crewmembers from the same strained pool of sealift-qualified mariners. Workforce shortages, estimated in the thousands, have forced the Military Sealift Command to schedule extended maintenance periods for several ships so that their crews may be reassigned to other vessels. Any increases in the size of the U.S.-flagged fleet must also factor the adequacy of the labor force and be appropriately sequenced with recruiting, training, and accessions.
Third & Long
In the most critical hour, the United States government is weighing both legislative and executive actions to address the maritime shortfalls that so desperately need solutions. The bipartisan and bicameral “SHIPS for America Act,” introduced in December 2024, elevates these U.S. maritime issues to a national imperative. The bill includes measures to address the shortage of credentialed mariners, funding for U.S. maritime policy, shipbuilding, industrial base, cargo preference, strategic sealift improvements, and incentives to make the U.S. flagged fleet contenders against foreign competition. While the SHIPS Act has not yet been reintroduced in the 119th Congress, one of its recommendations has moved forward in the form of the newly-established White House Office of Shipbuilding. Most recently, the Trump Administration took action with the Executive Order “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance” aimed at improving U.S. maritime policy and ramping up U.S. shipbuilding and repair.
Subsequent legislative actions have kept the focus on rebuilding America’s shipbuilding and repair capacity. Congressman Mark Green (TN-7th), Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (VA-2nd) and Congressman Don Davis (NC-1st) introduced the Save Our Shipyards (SOS) Act on March 13, 2025, to formulate a National Commission on the Maritime Industrial Base to conduct a study on the needs for U.S. military, defense, and commercial shipyards, the industrial base and a need for skilled labor. Similar studies identifying needs and projections in commercial shipping, U.S. mariners, and shipbuilding/repair supporting MARAD’s development of the National Maritime Strategy continue.
To further U.S. efforts to counter China’s quest for maritime superiority, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) proposed action in the “Section 301 Investigation of China’s Targeting of the Maritime, Logistics, and Shipbuilding Sectors for Dominance.” Specifically, proposed countermeasures included service fees on Chinese maritime transport operators, maritime transport operators whose fleets are comprised of Chinese-built vessels, and maritime transport operators with prospective orders for Chinese vessels as well as a service fee remission for maritime transport via U.S.-built vessels. Additionally, the notice takes action to reduce opportunity and exposure of U.S. shipping data from U.S. shipping companies, U.S. ports and terminals into the National Transportation Logistic Public Information Platform (LOGINK) utilized by China to pursue dominance in the maritime market space. Lastly, the USTR proposed restrictions on services to promote the transport of U.S. goods on U.S. vessels. This proposed action in particular is intended to spur reflags into the U.S. registry and domestic shipbuilding by adding export protections to industrial trade policy.
A New Playbook
Any near-term increases to U.S.-flag shipping for international trade will depend on foreign-built ships, even as a bridging strategy. Accordingly, the Coast Guard has initiated a campaign to streamline the reflagging of foreign-built ships to bolster a U.S. fleet of commercially viable and militarily useful vessels for international trade. This campaign supports executive actions as well as the national policy for the U.S. Merchant Marine to carry waterborne commerce at all times and to serve as a naval auxiliary during national contingencies as set out in Title 46 United States Code § 50101.Under the streamlined reflagging program, the Coast Guard has clarified the enrollment process, smoothed plan review, and streamlined the process for determining eligibility for vessels seeking to be inspected and certificated in accordance with Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 01-13, Inspection and Certification of Vessels under the Maritime Security Program (MSP).
Specifically, while some commercial vessels enrolled in MSP may receive a payment as part of their enrollment, it is not a precondition for certification. Accordingly, other vessels may be enrolled in voluntary sealift support programs established by MARAD and utilize NVIC 01-13 to obtain a Certificate of Inspection (COI) provided they meet the enrollment criteria as specified by MARAD, regardless of the vessels’ age. This includes vessels reflagging as part of the RRF recapitalization. In the revised guidance, all vessels will be generally referred to as “MSP vessels” regardless of the sealift support program for which MARAD has determined that the vessel is eligible. By doing so, the Coast Guard has consolidated the reflag process under a single program based on international standards. Benefits include:
Inherent Teammates
It is natural to assume—mistakenly—that the Merchant Marine and Coast Guard have held competing priorities since the inception of the first federal maritime safety program in the eighteenth century. Regardless of any trivial tensions, the bottom-line is that safe, secure, and efficient shipping is essential to the prosperity of the United States. These initiatives clearly support the restoration of American maritime power in-line with Congressional intent and executive direction. Success, however, relies upon an unwavering commitment and thorough execution. National defense cannot prevail without a linked Merchant Marine and Coast Guard. Like the Army-Navy Game, the Secretaries’ Cup showcases a fierce rivalry on the field, but a mutual respect for one another in the service to our nation. It’s not just a football game, it’s the manifestation of maritime statehood, national prominence, and the preservation of the United States as a maritime power on the global stage.
On November 15, 2025, the 45th installment of the Secretaries’ Cup will kick off at noon in historic Fenway Park.
Corydon F. Heard IV is a graduate the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
Go Kings Point, Beat Coast Guard!
Nikki E. Corbett is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
Go Coast Guard, Beat Kings Point!
The views expressed in this piece are the sole opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Center for Maritime Strategy or other institutions listed.