The Jones Act:

Requires shipping between two US ports utilize vessels built, owned, and operated by Americans but shipbuilding subsidies ended in the 1980s leaving few US shipbuilders. Less than 1% of the world’s ships are built in the United States. The Jones Act is a federal law that regulates maritime commerce in the United States. The Jones Act requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be transported on ships that are built, owned, and operated by United States citizens or permanent residents. It is also known as The Merchant Marine Act of 1920. The Jones Act doesn’t apply to cargo shipped between the mainland states and the U.S. Virgin Islands, but it does affect Guam and Puerto Rico, whose 3.4 million residents get a large portion of their goods via container ships from the mainland.

 

  • The American shipbuilding industry has all but disappeared – apart from military ships – as 90 percent of the world’s deep draft shipbuilding has moved to China, South Korea, and Japan.
  • Currently, the fleet of US vessels that comply with the Jones Act restrictions has dwindled from 2,300 in 1946 to less than 100 today, and many of those ships are old and among the most expensive in the world to maintain.

 

 

Made in America

Energy Efficient USA Shipbuilding Program

 

Our goal is to increase U.S. shipbuilding and improve trade within Non-Contiguous States and Territories,

 The ultimate goal is USA Shipbuilding is to:

 

  • Increase commerce between the mainland of the United States and Non-Contiguous States and Territories.
  • Build a new kind of cargo ship in the United States that is comfortable, clean, low-cost and reliable
  • Operate one or more cargo ships for the transportation of goods in compliance with the Jones Act
  • Build and operate two new U.S. ports
  • Operate a direct shipping route between the mainland U.S. and Non-Contiguous States and Territories,
  • Employ U.S. shipbuilders and purchase and utilize U.S. products in the production of the cargo ship
  • Eliminate the use of heavy oil and utilize green approaches, such as a self-contained septic system and alternative fuels like LNG, solar and wind
  • Use an electronic stabilization system for safer and smoother transport
  • Offer flexible alternatives to container-only shipping to make the of shipping goods feasible for smaller companies
  • Build and operate using good practices, such as environmentally friendly operations and no dumping

If you are interested in contributing or volunteering towards this cause please reach out to us directly

Thank You

 

 

 

There are both proponents and critics of the Jones Act.

Proponents say:

  • Without the Jones Act, the Navy would need to spend many billions of dollars on new sealift vessels.
  • Without the Jones Act, the Navy would be hard-pressed to crew the sealift vessels it already has.
  • Without the Jones Act, U.S. construction of large oceangoing commercial vessels would cease.
  • Without the Jones Act, foreign ships and mariners would take over critical U.S. economic infrastructure.
  • Without the Jones Act, safety and professional standards would erode.
  • The Jones Act provides major national security benefits.

Critics say:

  • The residents of Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Guam pay a special “tax” via higher prices every time they buy something from the continental U.S. It’s a direct transfer from their wallets to the U.S. shipping and shipbuilding industry.
  • A 2012 New York Fed study found it costs twice as much to ship a freight container from the U.S. East Coast to Puerto Rico than to nearby Haiti.
  • The protectionist mentality embodied by the Jones Act directly contradicts the lessons we have learned about the benefits of a free and open market.