An article published by the U.S. Naval Institute suggests the U.S. Navy look at the option of converting merchant ships into missile carriers.
English: Petty Officer 2nd Class Luke Pinneo, U.S. Coast Guard [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The authors, some with surface warfare experience, suggest putting VLS cells on containers and place them aboard tankers or container ships.
This is a cheaper and more feasible way for the service to achieve a 355-ship force, the authors argue.