Can you tell me what you know about Merchant Navy?Can it be our second line of defence?

Answer 1

Merchant Navy, also known as Merchant Marine denotes a class of seagoing vessels owned and operated by civilian companies, as opposed to the single word Navy, which denotes fighting ships owned and operated by the military arms of sovereign countries. In times of conflict, merchant ships may sometimes officially complement the navy.

Answer 2

Line of defense against what? The Merchant Navy or Merchant Marines is a system or group of ships the USA uses to transport military supplies during war time. They are still used but not like WWI or II. Other then small arms, their ships are not armed for fighting. Nothing against them but if we have to rely on them for defense then we done lost the war.

Answer 3

The United States has virtually no merchant fleet. It's not economical to operate with American crews and officers under an American flag. The majority of the world's merchant ships have crews from places like the Philippines and operate with officers from places like Greece and Germany. The majority of the world's merchant fleet sail under "flags of convenience" from places like Liberia and Panama which gives them a huge tax advantage.

The US Navy does have what's called the Military Sealift Command which operates ships in support of the navy all over the world. These ships have a mixed civilian/military crew...maybe 80% civilian and 20% military. They normally have a navy officer in command of the military crew but the ship operates under the control of a civilian master.

http://www.msc.navy.mil/

Answer 4

Merchant Navy is related to shipping and business through route.

They can not be second line of business.

Answer 5

Sort of... they can assist, not fight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Merchant_Marine