Modern merchant fleets are already committed to commercial work, which limits how many hulls a state can requisition without disrupting trade. Containerised weapons still need ships to carry them. A large deployment could require scarce refrigerated container ships, making the apparent shortcut expensive. Naval planning therefore depends on the size, availability, and opportunity cost of civilian shipping.
Notable Point · 23:28-24:50
Merchant shipping is not spare naval capacity
Containerised weapons still depend on scarce commercial hulls, so merchant shipping cannot be treated as a free reserve fleet.