Leveling the Playing Field

In the world of shipping, the Jones Act, like Rodney Dangerfield, gets no respect. It is only of interest to the parties involved, not many, and like most protected trades it is at best a political minefield. In political speak, participants in the trade are compensated for the higher costs of construction and labor in the U.S. in order to maintain a fleet of merchant vessels for our defense. The political reality however is that it is in fact a jobs program. And there is nothing wrong with that, except for the burden the inefficiencies put on the taxpayer. As a self-contained system it works. But what of the player, who operates both in the Jones Act and internationally.

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