Same here - I started following this channel to keep up with that crazy story about the diy sub that went down to the Titanic - and popped. I watch every post now
@@ThatOpalGuy It’s an important part (a subsystem if you will) of the most intricate global system the world has ever seen. It was an important part of earlier versions of the global system, such as when the galleons plied the Pacific and Atlantic, trading silk for silver.
Hey, I'm only 72. Be glad to help out should they be able to run the farm while I'm away! I was in the Norwegian merchant marine, and most of my children were born at sea, though don't they'd have much use for a midwife lol. These 'woke' days I guess that would be a 'midhusband'.
You do realize we can’t manufacture anything in the US without China or Chinese friendly countries? Whether it’s components, raw materials, tooling, or machinery some portion comes from China or Chinese friendly countries. The US CANNOT win a war with China.
It will be years before the first ship is launched. Trying to start a war with China over an Island that is internationally legally theirs? Is suicidal.
My husband has been a US Merchant Marine for nearly 25 years. Twenty-two of those were spent on RO/ROs (LMSRs) in the government's prepositioning program all over the world (Diego, Saipan, Spain, yada-yada-yada), some in ROS, some in FOS. He's been on a LOT of them. Everything you have said here is absolutely spot on, and you covered it really, really well. You are right ... we ARE NOT ready/prepared if something hits the fan and we need supplies in far-flung places. It was a really good idea that hasn't been managed properly.
Sad the OP would disparage what the United States of America can do. I’m guessing they’re a Republican. Republicans tear my country down. Go to Russia.
I am retired marine electrician from the Marine Fireman’s Union. I was involved with the sealift in 1990-91 for the Gulf War. It was an absolute mess trying to get ships out of mothballs and ready reserve. There was not shipyard space in the U S and Europe to fix all the broke down ships. It was everything from burned boiler tubes, to motor controllers. And now, 34 years later, we are worse off now than then. I’m retired and no way I’m going out there with their problems.
You called it. I'm thinking back to the Korean War when we couldn't field enough men, equipment and supplies to prevent North Korea from pushing our combined force all the way down to Busan. We deployed policing equipment from Japan as a stop gap, but we had no heavy armor until Sea Lift could get it there from the United States. We lost a lot of people because of inadequate means on the ground. If we hadn't gotten that badly needed equipment, we could have lost Korea altogether.
Korea and Vietnam and every other War since World War II has been none of our fucking business but we've decided to poke our fucking nose where it don't goddamn belong how about we mind our own fucking business and take care of Americans before we start worrying about fucking around somewhere else
@@mirror452 Should have left the Imperial Japanese Army there instead? That's one I haven't heard before. BTW, Lee Sung Man wasn't a military man. He was elected president by the national assembly in 1948 and in a general elections in 1952, 1956, and 1960.
Professor Mercogliano, I first became aware of your and your channel by way of Juan Browne, and his “blancolirio” RUclips channel, back when you were reporting on, and putting out videos on all the container ships parked off the coast just outside the Long Beach & Los Angeles, Calif., ports, and have been a subscriber ever since. I am recalling a couple of mentions by you, (regarding the readiness, and positioning, age, moth balling etc.,) in subsequent videos, about this very topic you talk about here today. It is just amazing our governments’ processing of situations such as the maritime fleet. It is on a level that defies all reason. Great video, Thank you sir.
You left out some of the most critical ships/boats. Break bulk ships are an absolute necessity for any continuing conflict. The major harbors world wide will be one of the first targets in any conflict. We also need lighterage including, barges, landing craft, tugs, floating cranes and all the necessary equipment to load and unload ships where developed port equipment is not available. Also, anyone who thinks the 'ready reserve' ships can be put to use in five days is a dreamer. Every gasket and seal on every fitting is going to fail as soon as it is put into service. I served on a heavy boat in the Army which had been pulled out of mothballs. We had headaches for months getting things working properly.
Why are the Chinese going to invade America when you're sending them so much money ? 10 billion dollars just for Halloween so you can all act like children and you think the Chinese are going to interfere with that plus the fact that Google is selling all of their plastic toys
Back about 1970 I was a little worried I would get Drafted. My uncle, Larry Kelly said you want to stay out of the draft? Then come out to sea with me. So I went to Harry Lundeburg School of Seamanship (S.I.U.)and graduated at the top of my class. I was awarded the choice of ships and being from California I chose 1 going to Hawaii. Got out to sea (old T-2 Tanker) and one of the crew told me things had changed, were going to Guam. We came back to San Pedro and I decided to stay for another run. We got out to sea(5 thousand miles) and my buddy says' we have been chartered by the Navy we are on our way to Vietnam!' They kept us on board past the legal limit of 1 year. Guess you could say we were Shanghaied on an old converted tramp tanker.
Greetings from UK. We are currently unplugging our entire shipbuilding industry but we caught your video. We'd love to meet up for a little chat over tea
I very much enjoy the channel. But just to be clear, Sal is not the only one mentioning these things. Hundreds of maritime experts have lobbied for strengthening the industry for decades now. One of the most recent was Adm. Mark Buzby. He was the former maritime administrator and spent his whole career in the industry. If he couldn’t change anything as the maritime administrator, then who can? The reason nothing changes is bc half or more of congress is lobbied by interests who get rich off of a weak merchant marine and the other half of congress has interests in protecting the jones act.
Buzz is the best. But as MARAD he was also limited by what he could say and do. This is one of the reasons I discuss this so it gets into the public discourse.
Hate to say this but it’s why countries like China do have the advantage. Sure they’re corrupt and probably incompetent. But bought and paid for by foreign NGO’s? Hardly. Where as a free market Capitalist country which we like to think we are is for sale to the highest bidder. Socialism has its advantages.
First of all China wanted invade because you're sending them so much money and secondly if you don't piss people off you won't need military equipment .
This man speaks the truth. We used to be the vessel agent for the MSC at the Port of Jacksonville, Fl. Blount Island Command. I worked for this corp. from 98 until I sustained an injury on one of their vessels shortly after 9/11. I overheard the chief engineer of the "Kocak" talking to the Captain voicing his concerns about the vessel's main engine which was way overdue for a major overhaul. The ship was built in the 80's as were a lot of them. This is serious stuff folks.
The Chinese are not going to invide because you have so many stupid people sending them money. This guy is being paid to scare monga so other countries will buy military equipment of the United states
Sal I agree with you 100% Except one point. I was with MSC in the early 2000's Been there done that. Got the patch and the shirt to prove it. lol. I was a Civilian Mariner on MSC ships in the Combat Logistics Force. That same fleet was and may still be known a the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force. I agree we do not have enough bodies to fill the slots on the MSC ships especially the ones that resupply the navy at sea. Thank you for calling out the Coast Guard. They have been hurting merchant marine officers and anyone that holds a Z card for years.
How about the United states understands that it can't force anybody to do anything so they should just piss off go home and stop thinking they run the world
Right on, Sal. I always love your shows, but this one in particular addresses a HUGE need in US defense right now. Thanks, Bud. Keep up the great work.
600 billion dollars is not enough when no one is planning to attack the United states and China certainly won't because you're giving them so much money .
Sal, you do a fantastic job explaining the problems, situation and possible solutions to maritime issues. I find it ironic that the Congress is as reluctant to spend money on our maritime fleet (it is part of the U.S. infrastructure) as they are in maintaining our roads, b ridges and other vital infrastructure. They do however have plenty of money for their "pet projects" that benefit only the major donors to their campaigns. I am 71 years old and have seen the politics of this country shift from doing things that benefit many in the society toward doing things for the elite. This situation has done nothing but drag us down and caused even more animosity among the elected officials and the general population. I can only hope that sanity will break out before it is to late. Take care and keep up the great work.
The opposite of where we are now is something you would find appalling. It’s called socialism. And hate to say it but if things keep heading in the direction they are we will either go fascist or socialist.
As a port operations officer in the UK, I once had to load US military cargo on a Norwegian flagged vessel with a Croatian crew. At the time, US forces were restricted from the use of foreign flagged ships, but our operation was deemed exempt because the cargo was going from the UK to Italy. The operation was difficult for various reasons including language and perceived discharging capacity at the receiving port. Another operation involved an old US flagged "container" steam ship that was used to load breakbulk ammunition back to the US. That ship failed several pre-operation inspections including the USCG inspection. Many of it's licenses and certificates were either expired or would expire prior to reaching the US port of discharge. Several critical safety systems were inoperative including the fire detection system and auxiliary firefighting system. After several days, we were able to begin loading. Within the first few hours of load start, we had to halt all operations because one of the cargo holds was filling with water. The ship's crew were transferring ballast to accommodate the load and water entered the hold through a crack in the deck plate. And the hits continued coming. That was a tremendously expensive and frustrating operation. The delays greatly increased both port operational fees and ship fees. Since we were loading ammunition, we required dedicated fire department crews on the pier at all times, added security personnel, and we had 2 tug boats ready to pull the ship off the pier should a fire occur on the pier. If my memory serves, each tug cost us 5,000 British Pounds per day on stand by status. I don't remember the final cost of that port operation but I would not be surprised if it was more than the value of the cargo. The beauty of working with foreign-flag vessels/crews and/or old vessels.
interesting coverage, one of my "uncle's" was in the (nfld) merchant marine WWII, ruined his life as it turned out, a complicated story, but it was an underappreciated but neceesary part of the military supply chain, continuing to learn about how important it was, thank you for uploading this
I've seen photos of the "reserve" fleet. The vessel's are, for the most part, wrecks. Junk heaps, requiring massive expenditure in rework etc. It's a bad situation. Kinda like the NS Savannah which has deteriorated similarly (and one which l'd sure like to see restored).
Great to hear a shoutout to the GTS Admiral W.M. Callaghan I have worked on her in reduced operating status as well as on turbo activation. A very cool ship it was a testbed for the General Electric LM-2500 and has the first production model aboard her. As much as enjoyed working and sailing aboard her your assessment is 100% correct Sal. The Adm. W.M. Callaghan is far better suited to be a museum ship rather than a part of our sealift fleet.
This is a continuing saga. While a US Army Transporter in the 1980's-90's, we had the same problem. A few ships were added but then the problem was forgotten. Transportation is the key to logistics! You can have the most powerful military, but if you can't get it to the war, you have lost. If you can't resupply that force, you have lost. Yes, there is a high cost to building and maintaining a shipping fleet. But, since you can't predict when you'll need it, it's better to have a robust shipping fleet and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Don't think we need one..... but then we seem to stumble into them repeatedly. Given the political management of the Afghanistan war against the Taliban, China should be a cake walk.
@@jeffrsopha That's because we severely overestimate our own will to support wars to the end. Even Ukraine doesn't get what it needs, and we're talking about a war with no US personnel losses at all. Forget actual capability, if we're not willing to fight a proxy war with Russia, where's the political will to fight (and win) a hot war with China?
I got into shipping after Nam in 1973. I spent half of the next 21 years sitting on benches waiting for work. Then came the gulf war, and the government crybabies about a lack of seamen. And yet it neglects job creation.
Possibly, but I think a position where his expertise aligns with the job title and position description that has the power and influence to affect real change. Maybe kick Buttigieg out of the Sec of Transportation...(Note to self; Dream on John, People dont get hired on merit anymore) @@lanetatom2701
Well now …. that it’s a crisis .. we will begin to start to think about taking action …. so we can be ready for it when it has become an outright catastrophe …Please Pardon my Sarcasm…Thank you Sal for Warning us
When Wisconsin representative Gallagher wrote the letter it's all about bringing home the bacon, protecting jobs for the constituency / voters... if you want your major shipyards operational they have to have work, or they go out of business, can you imagine trying to retool one & NO we don't have enough ships available.... we need to bring back some of the manufacturing and good jobs to this country.... not everybody wants to work in the service industry or is qualified to be a rocket scientist.....LAXVESPA-LOSANGELES
Ah, the MSC and the ready reserve fleet. Such fond memories from the day of the first Persian gulf war. Good times. Good times and what a major clusterfuck it was. Old Luke's Brothers ships from the 60' . A massive shortage of competent sailors. Filled by old retirees, mental cases, drunks, greenhorns, and certified men from oil platforms. Think I have my AB rating but never set foot on, let alone steer a ship.
Post Vietnam, 1978ish, US Sealift Command was a still fairly impressive seagoing logistics tool. Especially to far flung polar regions and South Atlantic & Pacific corners of the globe.
Oh what a boon for Texas, Louisiana and subcontractors across the country! They shouldn't look at the total price....the cost difference between procuring old, over priced ships from allies and enemies alike vs circulating all that money in The USA should be evaluated. Why should we pay other countries to pose a threat to security?
Welcome to use transport ships to confront us. By the way, the latest discounted big rewards from Chinese shipyards, I believe that 80% of the world's shipowners, Chinese freight ships, are worth owning. We offer various types of cargo ships ranging from 1000 to 800000 tons, and we can build any ship that exists on this planet. We have 70% of the world's shipbuilding capacity. Last year, we had 61% of the world's new ship orders. China Shipbuilding welcomes you and will definitely make you feel at home.
Dr. Sal - thanks for a great channel. I found you by random chance and I'm sorry I didn't know about you much sooner. I'm impressed that Congressman Gallagher had/has the chops to study this problem as well as he did, as well as taking the steps he did to fix it. This gives me hope, because our adversaries aren't in the process of calming down recently. I'm unqualified, of course, but if I was as deeply interested in this problem as Gallagher, I think I would have classified this communication, since it deals with a real vulnerability we probably shouldn't announce with trumpets.
Sal. One of your best. I have just finished teaching Cammel Laird apprentices. Not much hope for the future of maritime engineering, from this quarter.
I agree we need home built commercial ships and would even recommend home based crew manning the ships. We need to have a civil industrial infrastructure in place that can shift to higher production capacity when needed. Any conservation for long term planning that does not have US built and crewed ships as a centerpiece is not worth having.
Just got steered to this channel by my sea-going nephew who I'd shared Sal's essay in Proceedings Magazine (U.S. Naval Institute, Feb 2024) "Logistics Wins (and Loses) Wars". Thank you, Sal! Subscribing to my first RUclips channel. Wish this was required listening for all congressmen. Also wish they'd read their copies of Proceedings, provided to them monthly by USNI.
If they want more Mariners, maybe MarAd should rethink their ROS Manning scale in the RRF to keep the ships fully crewed at all times. You can’t expect people to build a career on part-time jobs, can you? Especially when a UPS driver gig can pay as well. Also, practice convoying exercises. Every other year, activate the RRF ships on each coast to rendezvous-vous at a designated port harbor, (NYC and SF come to mind), and then convoy to Hawaii or Alaska or Bermuda or Halifax respectively. This breaks the houseboats off of their own coffee grounds and identifies which ships cannot meet the requirements. Worst thing to do to a ship is lay it up next to a pier with a skeleton crew and let the Budgeteers start short-sheeting it for profit.
Many years spent on MSC contracted ships. Predominantly FOS but participated in ROS activations and ONE TIME got stuck on a ROS for 4 months. The ROS ships are nightmare shitshows. The system for ROS is broken. Maersk, Crowley, Tote, etc use the race to the bottom management. Speaking of nightmare shitshows, that describes US shipyards. Upgrading your license to Master takes maybe a year or two of your vacation time, not to mention the additional training that gets added on year after year. We are short Mariners? I was terminated for refusing to take the Jab. No backup from the AMO or MMP. Don't cry to me. You said it, "we're just screwed".
I was in the SIU joined Nov 1965and later as a cadet in the MEBA ended in 1973 (I needed 36 more days at sea to get my thirds license. Now when I sailed I was told Monrovia and Panama ships were owned by USA companies and would be available for the USA in an emergency.
Sounds like death by bureaucracy. People in agencies justifying their jobs by adding additional rules and regulations rather than maintaining the established protocols. And these bureaucracies over time lose sight of what should guide their actions, to create an environment that maintains and sustains our interests without compromising us to our enemies. We’ve done the opposite. All of our “well-intentioned” “ transparency” has lead to us becoming sitting ducks. In this area and in so many others, it feels like some of these protocols advantage potential enemies. I truly feel we’ve been infiltrated slowly within bureaucracy and have created the conditions for America to be killed from within, death by a thousand cuts. What’s the quote from Sun-Tzu “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." Thank you for creating this channel and informing us on one of the oldest and fundamental industries that establishes our entire civilization, transportation. Thank you for your work, insights and knowledge.
I can certainly wholeheartedly support all of your assertions Sal! And I can pretty much bet that the answers to those questions from those in charge aren't really going to be answers to those specific questions..They will tap around and use a lot of verbiage but it will not answer ANY of those questions directly..Your assessment on mariners is spot on! It should be done(and I am one who takes a lot of cruises, and I would be willing to pay more for a cruise to pay the higher payroll if it were staffed by at least 50% Americans in the officer staffing)..Really curious to see what the responses are! Thanks for the content Sal!
I think one of the biggest issues with all the proposed war and disaster preparedness, not just here for shipping, but in other areas like general manufacturing, and logistics, is that it will create inflationary pressures. If you want to have spare capacity hanging around “just in case” that costs money both in initial cap ex, but also operating costs. We just went through a relatively brief period of relatively modest inflation and it caused/is causing pretty significant public backlash. It’s going to be politically difficult to pass and sustain these programs that you propose unfortunately.
If we actually fixed our internal waterways and locks we could build a very efficient container transport system by water to supplement the bulk cargo, food, coal, oil that already uses those means. Give them a little bit of better open ocean capability for when the need arises.
Anything, any program that has a chance of doing some good, is going to get blocked in the House of Representatives. There’s a handful of obstructionist extremists who’d rather go on TV shows than govern, and they’ve got the rest of the conference running scared. If that weren’t bad enough, they’re pathological liars unlike anything we’ve ever seen (save one man). To hear them tell it, inflation and unemployment are killing the country and we’re halfway into a depression. But if by some miracle the House of Representatives gets its ship together, I could see the U.S. doing a joint venture with Mexico’s state owned ship building company ASTIMAR (which builds destroyers, corvettes, and frigates at 5 different ship building facilities). I don’t think the U.S. government wants to own a ship building business (nor should they, imho), but they could provide loans to a U.S. ship building contractor that would then invest in the joint venture. Chile is another possibility, but Mexico is close and we could make use of NAFTA so that the ship building is a cross-border enterprise. This could be very good for the gulf states.
I've got a beef with at least one of the state Maritime acadamies that is slated for a new training vessel, whose enrollments in license majors is dwindling rapidly. Those that are promoting the school are focusing on all majors BUT the license majors. Business, EmergMgmt, Enviornmental to name a few. MARAD, in my opinion, should mandate a minimum enrollment in those majors to retain the ship.
Interesting and alarming. An aside: Rep. Mike Gallagher recently announced that he will not run for re-election. The USA also seems unable to retain competent politicians.
Excellent Video thanks Sal Takes me back to the days of the Falklands war that civilian ships and crews were requestioned many of civilians were not UK nationals other than senior officers, Finding US seafarers to man these extra ships as seafarers don't grow on trees. As Napoleon said an army marches on its stomach and someone needs to transport the sustenance. Seafarers are always overlooked even in an emergency that Britain would have starved WW2 without seafarers but received very little credit for their endeavours even docked pay when their ship was sunk.
Welcome to use transport ships to confront us. By the way, the latest discounted big rewards from Chinese shipyards, I believe that 80% of the world's shipowners, Chinese freight ships, are worth owning. We offer various types of cargo ships ranging from 1000 to 800000 tons, and we can build any ship that exists on this planet. We have 70% of the world's shipbuilding capacity. Last year, we had 61% of the world's new ship orders. China Shipbuilding welcomes you and will definitely make you feel at home.
The Ol’ school, all time…tried and true response from politicians, law makers appointed ones on the hill… “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it” And the minions had better say “Harumph!”
the former USS NAVJO VICTORY was pulled out of a navy fleet storage and rehabbed in Long Beach naval shipyard for two weeks in Long Beach Ca then loaded at Seal Beach Naval weapons stations then sailed direct to South Vietnam port of CRB with a load with NAPLAM AND THE ASSOCIATED IGNITORS(in the aft hole).We then sailed to the PI to pick up some USMC vehicles to be relocated to Japan then onto Seattle where the crew was dismissed with cash payments and returned by commercial air to SFO.
Hi Sal, more things we should have started at least 5 yrs ago. Things we should have never stopped. But Nnnnoooo, let's build magic Zumwalt's and Outsource everything else. Sigh!
Taking Russian Federation territory in Ukraine. You have a short memory! Donbass where Ukraine (with USA backing) have been committing genocide against the Russian population. Mr. Putin wanted peace talks...Boris Johnson stuffed that up.
How about they hire non criminals and pay them enough to live. That would be a good start, the reason skilled labor is short is because it doesn’t pay enough to live in many cases. You end up being a second class citizen while the college degrees are unqualified and overpaid.
Sal, you just told a fib. I had 5 Swiss/Liberian flag anchored ships off of Vietnam during that war. We sent our older ships, but our ships were never attacked.
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
I don't know anything about ships, yet I find this channel fascinating!
it is a great channel and lets people understand that global shipping is important, for good or bad, for the entire world's economic health.
Same here - I started following this channel to keep up with that crazy story about the diy sub that went down to the Titanic - and popped. I watch every post now
Niche subject matter expert channels is the meta
@@ThatOpalGuy It’s an important part (a subsystem if you will) of the most intricate global system the world has ever seen. It was an important part of earlier versions of the global system, such as when the galleons plied the Pacific and Atlantic, trading silk for silver.
Thanks to all of you for watching.
Tell the US Senators they get to put their name on the ships that are built in the USA. This should get 50 to 100 built.
Or maybe put the Country that Bought the Senators on there.
💯 Points to @maxmacdonald7174 !
Hey, I'm only 72. Be glad to help out should they be able to run the farm while I'm away! I was in the Norwegian merchant marine, and most of my children were born at sea, though don't they'd have much use for a midwife lol. These 'woke' days I guess that would be a
'midhusband'.
You do realize we can’t manufacture anything in the US without China or Chinese friendly countries? Whether it’s components, raw materials, tooling, or machinery some portion comes from China or Chinese friendly countries. The US CANNOT win a war with China.
It will be years before the first ship is launched. Trying to start a war with China over an Island that is internationally legally theirs? Is suicidal.
My husband has been a US Merchant Marine for nearly 25 years. Twenty-two of those were spent on RO/ROs (LMSRs) in the government's prepositioning program all over the world (Diego, Saipan, Spain, yada-yada-yada), some in ROS, some in FOS. He's been on a LOT of them. Everything you have said here is absolutely spot on, and you covered it really, really well. You are right ... we ARE NOT ready/prepared if something hits the fan and we need supplies in far-flung places. It was a really good idea that hasn't been managed properly.
Thanks Carol and hats off to your husband.
Thanks, Sal. I’ll tell him.
The US, and i believe in many other countries too, do not have statesmen-like leaders we used to have. Many leaders today are corrupt leaders.
Awesome!
Sad the OP would disparage what the United States of America can do. I’m guessing they’re a Republican. Republicans tear my country down. Go to Russia.
Sal, your content rocks. Great channel.
The whole point is to stay off the rocks…
@@captiannemo1587 Sal is our lighthouse.
Shame he's full of bulshit because the Chinese will never attack a country that sending them so much money
I am retired marine electrician from the Marine Fireman’s Union. I was involved with the sealift in 1990-91 for the Gulf War. It was an absolute mess trying to get ships out of mothballs and ready reserve. There was not shipyard space in the U S and Europe to fix all the broke down ships. It was everything from burned boiler tubes, to motor controllers. And now, 34 years later, we are worse off now than then. I’m retired and no way I’m going out there with their problems.
You called it.
I'm thinking back to the Korean War when we couldn't field enough men, equipment and supplies to prevent North Korea from pushing our combined force all the way down to Busan. We deployed policing equipment from Japan as a stop gap, but we had no heavy armor until Sea Lift could get it there from the United States. We lost a lot of people because of inadequate means on the ground. If we hadn't gotten that badly needed equipment, we could have lost Korea altogether.
Korea and Vietnam and every other War since World War II has been none of our fucking business but we've decided to poke our fucking nose where it don't goddamn belong how about we mind our own fucking business and take care of Americans before we start worrying about fucking around somewhere else
@@mirror452 Should have left the Imperial Japanese Army there instead? That's one I haven't heard before.
BTW, Lee Sung Man wasn't a military man. He was elected president by the national assembly in 1948 and in a general elections in 1952, 1956, and 1960.
Maersk OC1
@@mirror452Wasn't me. Blame the UN. Know your history. Another sore loser. Too bad our politicians started giving up before the job was done.
I see on this channel, the paid trolls aren't even trying to hide their nationality.
Professor Mercogliano,
I first became aware of your and your channel by way of Juan Browne, and his “blancolirio” RUclips channel, back when you were reporting on, and putting out videos on all the container ships parked off the coast just outside the Long Beach & Los Angeles, Calif., ports, and have been a subscriber ever since.
I am recalling a couple of mentions by you, (regarding the readiness, and positioning, age, moth balling etc.,) in subsequent videos, about this very topic you talk about here today.
It is just amazing our governments’ processing of situations such as the maritime fleet. It is on a level that defies all reason.
Great video,
Thank you sir.
It is about time! Thanks for bringing attention to this short fall. Please keep up the great job!
It's all speculative bulshit to get other people scared and buy military equipment off the United states what a load of crap
You left out some of the most critical ships/boats. Break bulk ships are an absolute necessity for any continuing conflict. The major harbors world wide will be one of the first targets in any conflict. We also need lighterage including, barges, landing craft, tugs, floating cranes and all the necessary equipment to load and unload ships where developed port equipment is not available.
Also, anyone who thinks the 'ready reserve' ships can be put to use in five days is a dreamer. Every gasket and seal on every fitting is going to fail as soon as it is put into service. I served on a heavy boat in the Army which had been pulled out of mothballs. We had headaches for months getting things working properly.
Why are the Chinese going to invade America when you're sending them so much money ? 10 billion dollars just for Halloween so you can all act like children and you think the Chinese are going to interfere with that plus the fact that Google is selling all of their plastic toys
Back about 1970 I was a little worried I would get Drafted. My uncle, Larry Kelly said you want to stay out of the draft? Then come out to sea with me. So I went to Harry Lundeburg School of Seamanship (S.I.U.)and graduated at the top of my class. I was awarded the choice of ships and being from California I chose 1 going to Hawaii. Got out to sea (old T-2 Tanker) and one of the crew told me things had changed, were going to Guam. We came back to San Pedro and I decided to stay for another run. We got out to sea(5 thousand miles) and my buddy says' we have been chartered by the Navy we are on our way to Vietnam!' They kept us on board past the legal limit of 1 year. Guess you could say we were Shanghaied on an old converted tramp tanker.
Greetings from UK. We are currently unplugging our entire shipbuilding industry but we caught your video. We'd love to meet up for a little chat over tea
Yes you bastards have conned the Australians in the paying for all of your bloody shipyards
Very and clearly put forward sir.
I very much enjoy the channel. But just to be clear, Sal is not the only one mentioning these things. Hundreds of maritime experts have lobbied for strengthening the industry for decades now. One of the most recent was Adm. Mark Buzby. He was the former maritime administrator and spent his whole career in the industry. If he couldn’t change anything as the maritime administrator, then who can? The reason nothing changes is bc half or more of congress is lobbied by interests who get rich off of a weak merchant marine and the other half of congress has interests in protecting the jones act.
Buzz is the best. But as MARAD he was also limited by what he could say and do.
This is one of the reasons I discuss this so it gets into the public discourse.
💯
Hate to say this but it’s why countries like China do have the advantage. Sure they’re corrupt and probably incompetent. But bought and paid for by foreign NGO’s? Hardly. Where as a free market Capitalist country which we like to think we are is for sale to the highest bidder. Socialism has its advantages.
First of all China wanted invade because you're sending them so much money and secondly if you don't piss people off you won't need military equipment .
This man speaks the truth. We used to be the vessel agent for the MSC at the Port of Jacksonville, Fl. Blount Island Command. I worked for this corp. from 98 until I sustained an injury on one of their vessels shortly after 9/11. I overheard the chief engineer of the "Kocak" talking to the Captain voicing his concerns about the vessel's main engine which was way overdue for a major overhaul. The ship was built in the 80's as were a lot of them. This is serious stuff folks.
The Chinese are not going to invide because you have so many stupid people sending them money. This guy is being paid to scare monga so other countries will buy military equipment of the United states
Sal I agree with you 100% Except one point. I was with MSC in the early 2000's Been there done that. Got the patch and the shirt to prove it. lol. I was a Civilian Mariner on MSC ships in the Combat Logistics Force. That same fleet was and may still be known a the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force. I agree we do not have enough bodies to fill the slots on the MSC ships especially the ones that resupply the navy at sea. Thank you for calling out the Coast Guard. They have been hurting merchant marine officers and anyone that holds a Z card for years.
I agree with you 100%. I love your idea about forcing cruise ships to use USA crew.
The problem there is that too many first world people think "service" is too low for them. This is why pursers and cabin crew are usually foreign.
How about the United states understands that it can't force anybody to do anything so they should just piss off go home and stop thinking they run the world
Right on, Sal. I always love your shows, but this one in particular addresses a HUGE need in US defense right now. Thanks, Bud. Keep up the great work.
600 billion dollars is not enough when no one is planning to attack the United states and China certainly won't because you're giving them so much money .
Sal, you do a fantastic job explaining the problems, situation and possible solutions to maritime issues.
I find it ironic that the Congress is as reluctant to spend money on our maritime fleet (it is part of the U.S. infrastructure) as they are in maintaining our roads, b ridges and other vital infrastructure. They do however have plenty of money for their "pet projects" that benefit only the major donors to their campaigns. I am 71 years old and have seen the politics of this country shift from doing things that benefit many in the society toward doing things for the elite. This situation has done nothing but drag us down and caused even more animosity among the elected officials and the general population. I can only hope that sanity will break out before it is to late.
Take care and keep up the great work.
The opposite of where we are now is something you would find appalling. It’s called socialism. And hate to say it but if things keep heading in the direction they are we will either go fascist or socialist.
@@rolandthethompsongunner64 That's a false dichotomy right there trying to make him choose between national socialism vs international socialism.
Brainwashed Americans that believe everyone's out to get them when no one is and you're just handing over more money
Thanks!
Thank you!
Hi, How nice to see the 'Bennett' on your thumbnail, I served on her 20+ years ago :) had some great times. Best regards from UK
Glad you enjoyed it
As a port operations officer in the UK, I once had to load US military cargo on a Norwegian flagged vessel with a Croatian crew. At the time, US forces were restricted from the use of foreign flagged ships, but our operation was deemed exempt because the cargo was going from the UK to Italy. The operation was difficult for various reasons including language and perceived discharging capacity at the receiving port.
Another operation involved an old US flagged "container" steam ship that was used to load breakbulk ammunition back to the US. That ship failed several pre-operation inspections including the USCG inspection. Many of it's licenses and certificates were either expired or would expire prior to reaching the US port of discharge. Several critical safety systems were inoperative including the fire detection system and auxiliary firefighting system. After several days, we were able to begin loading. Within the first few hours of load start, we had to halt all operations because one of the cargo holds was filling with water. The ship's crew were transferring ballast to accommodate the load and water entered the hold through a crack in the deck plate. And the hits continued coming. That was a tremendously expensive and frustrating operation. The delays greatly increased both port operational fees and ship fees. Since we were loading ammunition, we required dedicated fire department crews on the pier at all times, added security personnel, and we had 2 tug boats ready to pull the ship off the pier should a fire occur on the pier. If my memory serves, each tug cost us 5,000 British Pounds per day on stand by status. I don't remember the final cost of that port operation but I would not be surprised if it was more than the value of the cargo.
The beauty of working with foreign-flag vessels/crews and/or old vessels.
Thanks
Outstanding and very interesting content as always. Love your energy/enthusiasm you have as a SME.
interesting coverage, one of my "uncle's" was in the (nfld) merchant marine WWII, ruined his life as it turned out, a complicated story, but it was an underappreciated but neceesary part of the military supply chain, continuing to learn about how important it was, thank you for uploading this
I've seen photos of the "reserve" fleet. The vessel's are, for the most part, wrecks. Junk heaps, requiring massive expenditure in rework etc. It's a bad situation. Kinda like the NS Savannah which has deteriorated similarly (and one which l'd sure like to see restored).
Sal should be on the short list of US Secretary of Transportation nominees. Heck, throw his name in for President at this point.
Can you imagine a debate between Sal and Buttigieg?
That would be epic!
Great to hear a shoutout to the GTS Admiral W.M. Callaghan I have worked on her in reduced operating status as well as on turbo activation. A very cool ship it was a testbed for the General Electric LM-2500 and has the first production model aboard her. As much as enjoyed working and sailing aboard her your assessment is 100% correct Sal. The Adm. W.M. Callaghan is far better suited to be a museum ship rather than a part of our sealift fleet.
This is a continuing saga. While a US Army Transporter in the 1980's-90's, we had the same problem. A few ships were added but then the problem was forgotten. Transportation is the key to logistics! You can have the most powerful military, but if you can't get it to the war, you have lost. If you can't resupply that force, you have lost. Yes, there is a high cost to building and maintaining a shipping fleet. But, since you can't predict when you'll need it, it's better to have a robust shipping fleet and not need it than to need it and not have it.
Don't think we need one..... but then we seem to stumble into them repeatedly. Given the political management of the Afghanistan war against the Taliban, China should be a cake walk.
Right. Tactics wins battles, logistics wins wars.
@tag4789 A strong defense prevents war. Are you a MAGA child or a regular child?
@@jeffrsopha That's because we severely overestimate our own will to support wars to the end. Even Ukraine doesn't get what it needs, and we're talking about a war with no US personnel losses at all. Forget actual capability, if we're not willing to fight a proxy war with Russia, where's the political will to fight (and win) a hot war with China?
Excellent report 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
“Logistics wins wars”
Makes news like this all the more concerning
I got into shipping after Nam in 1973. I spent half of the next 21 years sitting on benches waiting for work. Then came the gulf war, and the government crybabies about a lack of seamen. And yet it neglects job creation.
Saul should be a cabinet member or undersecretary, something where the nitwits in DC have to listen to him.
Vice president maybe.
Possibly, but I think a position where his expertise aligns with the job title and position description that has the power and influence to affect real change.
Maybe kick Buttigieg out of the Sec of Transportation...(Note to self; Dream on John, People dont get hired on merit anymore) @@lanetatom2701
Our politicians and voters are anti-intellectual, so I doubt that'll happen unfortunately
@@lanetatom2701Sal needs to be appointed to whatever position would allow him to get things in gear. If he would be interested, of course.
stop electing nitwits.
As a Brit, share your sentiments. I can't wait to see the responses
Great video Sal 👏👏
As a brit you should know theyre just war mongering to sell military equipment , the Chinese are not going to attack
Well now …. that it’s a crisis .. we will begin to start to think about taking action …. so we can be ready for it when it has become an outright catastrophe …Please Pardon my Sarcasm…Thank you Sal for Warning us
Sarcasm? No need to apologize. How can anyone not be sarcastic with what is happening?
@@jeffrsopha at some point … it becomes an imperative
yup. and its gotta be bleeding sarcasm. were way way way behind on this. the political morons running everything are criminally incompetent.
Wisconsin Rep Gallagher is from Wisconsin's 8th District, which includes all of the major shipyards around Green Bay/Door County.
Now we have the answer to why he wrote this letter.
A quarter of the way through the next century and our government is still writing letters.
When Wisconsin representative Gallagher wrote the letter it's all about bringing home the bacon, protecting jobs for the constituency / voters... if you want your major shipyards operational they have to have work, or they go out of business, can you imagine trying to retool one & NO we don't have enough ships available.... we need to bring back some of the manufacturing and good jobs to this country.... not everybody wants to work in the service industry or is qualified to be a rocket scientist.....LAXVESPA-LOSANGELES
Ah, the MSC and the ready reserve fleet. Such fond memories from the day of the first Persian gulf war. Good times. Good times and what a major clusterfuck it was.
Old Luke's Brothers ships from the 60'
. A massive shortage of competent sailors. Filled by old retirees, mental cases, drunks, greenhorns, and certified men from oil platforms. Think I have my AB rating but never set foot on, let alone steer a ship.
Geez. I almost forgot about all the forgiven flagged ships the the DOD had to contract.
Don't forget tugboats. We had a 3rd Engineer come onboard bragging about being a "Chief Engineer" on a tugboat. What a joke.
Post Vietnam, 1978ish, US Sealift Command was a still fairly impressive seagoing logistics tool. Especially to far flung polar regions and South Atlantic & Pacific corners of the globe.
14:13 Agree American made, keeping the money/jobs inside the US. Makes perfect sense 👌
Yeah right with the border letting everyone flood in, we both know Americans arent gonna get these jobs.
Oh what a boon for Texas, Louisiana and subcontractors across the country! They shouldn't look at the total price....the cost difference between procuring old, over priced ships from allies and enemies alike vs circulating all that money in The USA should be evaluated. Why should we pay other countries to pose a threat to security?
Welcome to use transport ships to confront us. By the way, the latest discounted big rewards from Chinese shipyards, I believe that 80% of the world's shipowners, Chinese freight ships, are worth owning. We offer various types of cargo ships ranging from 1000 to 800000 tons, and we can build any ship that exists on this planet. We have 70% of the world's shipbuilding capacity. Last year, we had 61% of the world's new ship orders.
China Shipbuilding welcomes you and will definitely make you feel at home.
no profit in that, though. what are you, a socialist?
@@oleran4569 because billionaires OWN the government and it only does what is best for them.
I am learning a lot, thanks for the reading suggestions.
Steamships tend to breakdown less, in my opinion. Some of the Great Lakes Fleets still operate steam ships.
Dr. Sal - thanks for a great channel. I found you by random chance and I'm sorry I didn't know about you much sooner. I'm impressed that Congressman Gallagher had/has the chops to study this problem as well as he did, as well as taking the steps he did to fix it. This gives me hope, because our adversaries aren't in the process of calming down recently. I'm unqualified, of course, but if I was as deeply interested in this problem as Gallagher, I think I would have classified this communication, since it deals with a real vulnerability we probably shouldn't announce with trumpets.
Thanks!
Sal. One of your best. I have just finished teaching Cammel Laird apprentices. Not much hope for the future of maritime engineering, from this quarter.
I am writing about Cammel Laird right now and the role they played in overhauling US destroyers in WWI.
Excellent info, keep up the great work!
I agree we need home built commercial ships and would even recommend home based crew manning the ships. We need to have a civil industrial infrastructure in place that can shift to higher production capacity when needed. Any conservation for long term planning that does not have US built and crewed ships as a centerpiece is not worth having.
Just got steered to this channel by my sea-going nephew who I'd shared Sal's essay in Proceedings Magazine (U.S. Naval Institute, Feb 2024) "Logistics Wins (and Loses) Wars". Thank you, Sal! Subscribing to my first RUclips channel. Wish this was required listening for all congressmen. Also wish they'd read their copies of Proceedings, provided to them monthly by USNI.
Thanks Amy!
If they want more Mariners, maybe MarAd should rethink their ROS Manning scale in the RRF to keep the ships fully crewed at all times.
You can’t expect people to build a career on part-time jobs, can you? Especially when a UPS driver gig can pay as well.
Also, practice convoying exercises. Every other year, activate the RRF ships on each coast to rendezvous-vous at a designated port harbor, (NYC and SF come to mind), and then convoy to Hawaii or Alaska or Bermuda or Halifax respectively. This breaks the houseboats off of their own coffee grounds and identifies which ships cannot meet the requirements. Worst thing to do to a ship is lay it up next to a pier with a skeleton crew and let the Budgeteers start short-sheeting it for profit.
Wow great show very good information thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it
great news sal thanks
Many years spent on MSC contracted ships. Predominantly FOS but participated in ROS activations and ONE TIME got stuck on a ROS for 4 months. The ROS ships are nightmare shitshows. The system for ROS is broken. Maersk, Crowley, Tote, etc use the race to the bottom management. Speaking of nightmare shitshows, that describes US shipyards. Upgrading your license to Master takes maybe a year or two of your vacation time, not to mention the additional training that gets added on year after year. We are short Mariners? I was terminated for refusing to take the Jab. No backup from the AMO or MMP. Don't cry to me. You said it, "we're just screwed".
Exceptional analysis of the depth of the issues. One of your best episodes.
Thanks John!
@@wgowshipping One of the best, but there was no drinking game. I guess it’s dry dock Sunday.
One of your best videos!
why is Sal not being interviewed by Congress telling them about these issues?
Such a thing is much needed, but I am afraid it would devolve into MAGA Congress-fluencers yelling at Sal to score political points and get on TV.
I was in the SIU joined Nov 1965and later as a cadet in the MEBA ended in 1973 (I needed 36 more days at sea to get my thirds license. Now when I sailed I was told Monrovia and Panama ships were owned by USA companies and would be available for the USA in an emergency.
Sounds like death by bureaucracy. People in agencies justifying their jobs by adding additional rules and regulations rather than maintaining the established protocols. And these bureaucracies over time lose sight of what should guide their actions, to create an environment that maintains and sustains our interests without compromising us to our enemies. We’ve done the opposite. All of our “well-intentioned” “ transparency” has lead to us becoming sitting ducks. In this area and in so many others, it feels like some of these protocols advantage potential enemies. I truly feel we’ve been infiltrated slowly within bureaucracy and have created the conditions for America to be killed from within, death by a thousand cuts. What’s the quote from Sun-Tzu “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting."
Thank you for creating this channel and informing us on one of the oldest and fundamental industries that establishes our entire civilization, transportation. Thank you for your work, insights and knowledge.
I can certainly wholeheartedly support all of your assertions Sal! And I can pretty much bet that the answers to those questions from those in charge aren't really going to be answers to those specific questions..They will tap around and use a lot of verbiage but it will not answer ANY of those questions directly..Your assessment on mariners is spot on! It should be done(and I am one who takes a lot of cruises, and I would be willing to pay more for a cruise to pay the higher payroll if it were staffed by at least 50% Americans in the officer staffing)..Really curious to see what the responses are! Thanks for the content Sal!
My MMC is good for another year, but no sea time in 5 years. If the USCG wants STCW mariners, they should pay for it. Great video and comments!
USCG wears TOO many hats and not enough people to do any of them!
Excellent job. Thanks for your leadership in this fight.
Great video on an important topic. I liked seeing the Lego globe too.
Thanks for watching!
C’mon, who you kiddin’? You helped Galleger with his questions! Great show!
I think one of the biggest issues with all the proposed war and disaster preparedness, not just here for shipping, but in other areas like general manufacturing, and logistics, is that it will create inflationary pressures.
If you want to have spare capacity hanging around “just in case” that costs money both in initial cap ex, but also operating costs.
We just went through a relatively brief period of relatively modest inflation and it caused/is causing pretty significant public backlash.
It’s going to be politically difficult to pass and sustain these programs that you propose unfortunately.
If we actually fixed our internal waterways and locks we could build a very efficient container transport system by water to supplement the bulk cargo, food, coal, oil that already uses those means. Give them a little bit of better open ocean capability for when the need arises.
Anything, any program that has a chance of doing some good, is going to get blocked in the House of Representatives. There’s a handful of obstructionist extremists who’d rather go on TV shows than govern, and they’ve got the rest of the conference running scared.
If that weren’t bad enough, they’re pathological liars unlike anything we’ve ever seen (save one man). To hear them tell it, inflation and unemployment are killing the country and we’re halfway into a depression.
But if by some miracle the House of Representatives gets its ship together, I could see the U.S. doing a joint venture with Mexico’s state owned ship building company ASTIMAR (which builds destroyers, corvettes, and frigates at 5 different ship building facilities). I don’t think the U.S. government wants to own a ship building business (nor should they, imho), but they could provide loans to a U.S. ship building contractor that would then invest in the joint venture.
Chile is another possibility, but Mexico is close and we could make use of NAFTA so that the ship building is a cross-border enterprise. This could be very good for the gulf states.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I've got a beef with at least one of the state Maritime acadamies that is slated for a new training vessel, whose enrollments in license majors is dwindling rapidly. Those that are promoting the school are focusing on all majors BUT the license majors. Business, EmergMgmt, Enviornmental to name a few. MARAD, in my opinion, should mandate a minimum enrollment in those majors to retain the ship.
I just joined Patreon for you. Thank you for your service to our country.
Much appreciated!
Interesting and alarming. An aside: Rep. Mike Gallagher recently announced that he will not run for re-election. The USA also seems unable to retain competent politicians.
As a former military veteran and a merchant mariner love your channel 💪
Excellent Video thanks Sal
Takes me back to the days of the Falklands war that civilian ships and crews were requestioned many of civilians were not UK nationals other than senior officers, Finding US seafarers to man these extra ships as seafarers don't grow on trees. As Napoleon said an army marches on its stomach and someone needs to transport the sustenance. Seafarers are always overlooked even in an emergency that Britain would have starved WW2 without seafarers but received very little credit for their endeavours even docked pay when their ship was sunk.
Well stated and presented! 🎯
Should USCG be moved back to commerce dept from DHS?
Best video yet!
Excellent...
USSC needs to address crewing too. You can have 125 new vessels but if you don't have a crew then what's the point...
Welcome to use transport ships to confront us. By the way, the latest discounted big rewards from Chinese shipyards, I believe that 80% of the world's shipowners, Chinese freight ships, are worth owning. We offer various types of cargo ships ranging from 1000 to 800000 tons, and we can build any ship that exists on this planet. We have 70% of the world's shipbuilding capacity. Last year, we had 61% of the world's new ship orders.
China Shipbuilding welcomes you and will definitely make you feel at home.
@@SpruceWood-NEG Thanks, enormous penis, for pasting this dumbass spam on various comments.
Another awesome review of a difficult situation. Great job Sal.
Demographics are going to play a big role in labor constraints. Filling these roles from sailers to ship builders are going to be difficult.
Well apparently we just absorbed 8 million migrants. Maybe many wouldn’t mind the jobs ? I already know our lazy worthless youth won’t.
There’s plenty of skilled labor available, we just have to let them in.
@@MarcosElMalo2 Sorry Marcos "The Bad 2" America's closed. Bear outside should have told you.
very educational video. thanks for taking the time.
The Ol’ school, all time…tried and true response from politicians, law makers appointed ones on the hill…
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it”
And the minions had better say “Harumph!”
Thank you for such a spiral of knowledge!
During WW2 Bethlehem steel made ships no more Bethlehem company left
Great shirt!
Ah, and the info is great, too! Thanks! ;)
Why do we have a fleet (?) of mothballed ships if they are not suitable for use.
sounds like someone forgot they were there at all.
Because that is what the elected of the US government elected by it's own people.. wanted.
Excellent question.
carefully and assiduously applied stupidity.
Awesome content! And one of the rare times a person that says “right in my wheelhouse” is really accurate!
Logistics nay not be glamorus, just critical.
the former USS NAVJO VICTORY was pulled out of a navy fleet storage and rehabbed in Long Beach naval shipyard for two weeks in Long Beach Ca then loaded at Seal Beach Naval weapons stations then sailed direct to South Vietnam port of CRB with a load with NAPLAM AND THE ASSOCIATED IGNITORS(in the aft hole).We then sailed to the PI to pick up some USMC vehicles to be relocated to Japan then onto Seattle where the crew was dismissed with cash payments and returned by commercial air to SFO.
Hi Sal, more things we should have started at least 5 yrs ago. Things we should have never stopped. But Nnnnoooo, let's build magic Zumwalt's and Outsource everything else. Sigh!
Great and ominous reporting
Thanks Sal
So shipping our manufacturing, steel mills, and shipyards overseas for cheap labor and corporate profits was a bad idea?
Professor Sal. Again Thank You
were screwed!!!
Everything will be fine . Keep calm and carry on
Sal, thank you!
Tough shit America!
Just back off and stop with all of your wars!
We don't need wars!
But whatever China and Russia do is fine with you?
If the USA didn't stir up trouble all the time maybe the world would be at peace?
I'm fine with the Russian Federation and China defending their own territory and their own people.
@@martinfinn674and taking terrritory from Ukraine or seizing Philippine islands?
Taking Russian Federation territory in Ukraine.
You have a short memory!
Donbass where Ukraine (with USA backing) have been committing genocide against the Russian population.
Mr. Putin wanted peace talks...Boris Johnson stuffed that up.
Excellent job breaking this down
So so great to let China know about this....smh. Not you Sal, but this should have never have been made public.
China knows this the same way NATO knows about the readiness issues of the PLA. Not to hard to count ships via satellite and track age.
The US Merchant Marine has been in crisis mode for decades. This is not news.
And Sal discussing his ideas does not say what the US government agencies are going to do.
Good job SAL I with you on that though Buddy. 😊
Maybe we can utilize the USA's private prison system to build & staff the ships to expand our fleet capacity.
to build ships ya need shipyards and steel mills...
@@davidty2006 we can use them to build that too!
I don't think we need to resort to slave labor.
How about they hire non criminals and pay them enough to live. That would be a good start, the reason skilled labor is short is because it doesn’t pay enough to live in many cases. You end up being a second class citizen while the college degrees are unqualified and overpaid.
Very timely analysis Sal. Many thanks
No, no, no. We need send money to Ukraine , ok o and the philippines will man the ships, ok. No worries at all
This is why I subscribed. Thanks, Sam.
Great suggestions!! I believe it is good for the country!
Sal, you just told a fib. I had 5 Swiss/Liberian flag anchored ships off of Vietnam during that war. We sent our older ships, but our ships were never attacked.
One of your best.
Great idea. Merchant marine .
Another great video neighbor. Closing in on 200k 👍