I don’t get it, are they the military or are they not? Aren’t the ships privately owned? Can you not be a ship captain without going to the Merchant Marine Academy?
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Just think of the ‘The Merchant Marine’ as a fancy word for ‘The Shipping Industry’.
All the trucks in America taken as a whole is the trucking industry. There isn’t a command structure, no one is the General of all American trucks, there are bid trucking companies and little trucking companies. People who work in the trucking industry are called truckers, and they need a license to operate their trucks on the roads. Many trucking companies have contracts with the government for various things, including subsidies and other programs.
All the cargo ships in America taken as a whole is the Merchant Marine. There isn’t a command structure, no one is the Admiral of the Merchant Marine, it’s not one organization. There are big shipping companies and little shipping companies. People who work in the Merchant Marine area called Mariners (NOT Marines). They need a license (issued by the Coast Guard) to operate their ships. Many shipping companies have contracts with the government for various things, including subsidies, cargo preference, and other programs.
The Merchant Marine Academy is paid for by the federal government, and was established during WWII to train a workforce for the war effort, it still exists to support the military industrial complex. You can be a ship captain without going there. You can go to many other schools with a licensing program (SUNY, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Maine Maritime Academy, California Maritime Academy, Texas A&M and others) or sail in an unlicensed position and work your way up.
TLDR: STOP CALLING PEOPLE WHO WORK IN THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY MARINES. They are called Mariners, like the Seattle baseball team.
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