The Invisible Hand Won’t Rebuild U.S. Shipyards
Key takeaways
- In the roughly six weeks from Operation Epic Fury’s start until the April 8 cease-fire, more than 20 commercial vessels were hit in or around the Persian Gulf.
- The war has also exposed that the global economy can no longer take access to open oceans for granted.
- Roughly 80 percent of global trade by volume moves by sea, and open maritime exchange has underwritten decades of rising global prosperity.
In the roughly six weeks from Operation Epic Fury’s start until the April 8 cease-fire, more than 20 commercial vessels were hit in or around the Persian Gulf. If U.S. shipyards had to replace the gross tonnage, the process would likely take more than 12 years. China could build that capacity in about eight days. In this way, the war in Iran has put a spotlight on declining U.S. maritime power and the U.S. industry’s inability to produce and repair the ships needed to fight a long-term conflict.
The war has also exposed that the global economy can no longer take access to open oceans for granted. At the peak of the conflict, more than 700 ships were stranded near Iran, effectively leaving some 20,000 mariners hostage at sea. Some vessels reflagged under registries more favorable to Iran. Others became “zombie ships” by claiming the identities of scrapped vessels. Still others falsified locations or went dark—tools typically used by sanctions-evading vessels.
In the roughly six weeks from Operation Epic Fury’s start until the April 8 cease-fire, more than 20 commercial vessels were hit in or around the Persian Gulf. If U.S. shipyards had to replace the gross tonnage, the process would likely take more than 12 years. China could build that capacity in about eight days. In this way, the war in Iran has put a spotlight on declining U.S. maritime power and the U.S. industry’s inability to produce and repair the ships needed to fight a long-term conflict.