US Military Mulls Use of Foreign Ships to Move Troops, Supplies in Crisis

A shortage of US commercial ships that are needed to move troops and supplies in a global crisis has prompted the US military to consider using foreign vessels in an emergency, Transportation Command head Gen. Darren McDew told Congress on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The global shipping industry has a glut of vessels at a time when the US-flagged commercial fleet is shrinking, McDew explained in a testimony prepared for the US Senate Armed Services Committee.

"While we have contingency plans, further reductions [in US ships] may cause us to investigate other options such as using more foreign flagged international commercial vessels manned by foreign crews during crisis or war," McDew stated.

McDew noted that the United States expects to face a critical sealift capacity shortfall by the mid-2000s as many of the 80 ships in the US commercial fleet reach the end of their 50-year service life.