The Growing Strength Of The Soviet Merchant Fleet PDF Download

The Soviet merchant marine's growth from 1900 to the middle of the 1950s was generally slow and uneven compared to its expansion in more recent years. In the late 1950s development of its merchant fleet was accelerated. This expansion resulted from greatly increased seaborne merchant shipments. The growth has produced a Soviet merchant marine sufficiently large and diversified to carry most of their own foreign trade cargo, to deliver military and economic aid without dependence of foreign ships, to satisfy basic domestic needs in sea transport, and to earn enough foreign currency to pay for the Soviet charter of foreign ships and supplement the Soviet need for foreign currency. Apparently, by grand design these increased merchant marine resources are actually contributing toward a more powerful Soviet strategic naval capability. In addition to the positive political and economic aspects of a large merchant marine fleet, the Soviets continue as well to enhance the military capabilities of this fleet. Ultimately, they have the apparent goal of using portions or all of their merchant marine fleet to support their naval forces in the event of a limited or global conflict.