Why Italy's merchant fleet sustained the North Africa campaign

Did Italy have a merchant fleet during the Second World War?

Yes, and without it the North Africa campaign would have ended quickly because Axis forces would have run out of fuel and food.

Italian shipping carried the fuel and food required to keep the North Africa campaign going. Without that maritime lift, the land force could not have sustained itself for long. The exchange connects the merchant fleet directly to operations ashore. A navy's strategic effect includes protecting transport capacity as well as fighting warships.