Who is going to lease freightors for wartime convoy duty ?
Maybe the USA can buy them.
In the Battle of the Atlantic, the Allies had 3500 merchant ships sunk. The scale of a Pacific War against China would be larger, and over longer ocean distances.
> Who is going to lease freighters for wartime convoy duty ? <
I looked it up. There are now around 180 ships in our Merchant Marine. Something like 800 more merchant ships are owned by American companies, but are registered abroad for convenience. These ships are not part of our Merchant Marine.
We could lease them, but the lease would carry a hefty wartime premium. We could buy them, but it would be a seller’s market.
Now here’s the real kicker. When those foreign-flagged ships need protection, the US Navy runs to their defense. So the ship owners get all the protection with none of the responsibility.