merchant navy
English
editNoun
editmerchant navy (plural merchant navies)
- A civilian maritime fleet dedicated to the sea transport of goods and merchandise; especially, such a fleet of any particular nationality.
- 2021 September 8, Dr Joseph Brennan, “Electric tramways at the heart of our seaside story”, in RAIL, number 939, page 57:
- Owing to its location at the entrance to the River Tyne, South Shields was of strategic importance in the Second World War, especially to the merchant navy, and the town was heavily hit by a Luftwaffe strike in October 1941.