Word: fleets
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
TIME has also learned that the Israelis have provided the Christian Lebanese with a small navy, whose mission is to intercept ships heading for the remaining Moslem-held port of Sidon. The fleet consists of five gunboats of the Israeli navy Dabur class and three of the smaller Yatush class. According to one Israeli who helped train 100 Lebanese sailors to man them, the boats represent "the first 'Christian' navy in the Mediterranean since the Crusades...
Clearly, the bonanza had turned into something of a bust for the Pentagon. The once legendary MiG-25 no longer provided so strong an argument for obtaining more appropriations for the U.S. fighter fleet. Michigan Democrat Robert Carr, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, declared that "as a demonstration of technology [the MiG-25] calls into serious question the Pentagon claims of mushrooming Soviet military gains...
That is what Calhoon and his maritime cohorts want most of all-a guaranteed share of U.S. trade. Such a guarantee might rejuvenate the American merchant fleet, but in the long run it would harm the nation's overall trading position by making U.S. exports more expensive. In return for Carter's promise, the union promptly raised $200,000 for his campaign...
...maritime unions contribute so heavily? The answer is simply that they need ever greater federal subsidies in order to keep the dwindling U.S. merchant fleet afloat. As Paul Hall, the crusty president of the Seafarers, puts it, "Politics is pork chops...
...ships. Over the years, dozens of American shipowners have switched their colors to the so-called flags of convenience, notably Panama and Liberia, whose regulations allow owners to pay lower wages and require fewer costly safety measures. The result has been a long, steep decline in the U.S. merchant fleet; from its position of undisputed No. 1 in 1945, it has plummeted to No. 10, behind even Italy, France and Japan. Today U.S. ships carry only 5% of American foreign trade...