The Jones Act And What’s Wrong With Government

In The United States they’re called the Passenger Service Act and the Jones Act and they often prevent todays cruise companies from taking on and disembarking passengers in U.S. ports. The Passenger Service Act was created over 100 years ago to protect the American maritime business from foreign competition. It required that any ship carrying passengers from one American port to another American port had to have been built in an American shipyard, flagged in America and staffed with American citizens. The Jones Act does the same for carrying cargo.

Over the past few decades these acts have hurt America far more than they have helped. Here are just a few examples.

Exporting American Oil

It is a fact that companies are exporting American oil while at the same time importing foreign oil. Recently, even the White House has asked the oil companies to stop sending American oil overseas. The actual issue involves the Jones Act and it could be fixed by modifying or revoking that act.

The reason we export oil and import foreign oil is we don’t have enough “American” tankers. A recent survey found only 60 of them and that isn’t enough to mover oil from the fields to where it is refined. So because of the Jones Act the only option is to load foreign tankers at our ports and send them to foreign countries. While at the same time bringing foreign oil to American refineries.

The Deep Water Horizon

Remember the PB oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico that exploded? An environmental disaster of unimagined proportions. Norway, one of the worlds most successful offshore oil producers, quickly dispatched two of their ships designed to collect oil from the surface to the gulf to help. The problem was that the Jones Act prohibited those ships to “work” in American watersThe President (Obama) could have used an executive order for temporary suspension to allow them to work – he wouldn’t.

Hurricane Shuts Down Gulf Refineries

When hurricane Harvey shut down the oil refineries in the gulf in late August of 2017 the Trump administration suspended the Jones Act to allow oil from Texas and the gulf to be transported to the east coast refineries.

Alaska Ferry Service

Alaska’s ferry service is a lifeline for the state and is in serious trouble at least partially because of protectionist U.S. maritime laws. Ferries transporting vehicles, which is most such vessels in Alaska and Washington , are subject to the 1920 Jones Act, while those transporting people fall under the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886. Both laws mandate that vessels engaged in domestic transport be U.S.-built and there are literally no U.S. shipyards building those types of ships.

LNG For Puerto Rico And Hawaii

The Jones Act requires Puerto Rico to receive shipments of LNG as well as oil based fuels from the U.S. mainland rather than nearby Dominican Republic where prices are significantly cheaper. This causes residents of Puerto Rico to pay shipping costs far higher than they otherwise would. Hawaii has similar issues with energy products and both would save considerable on those costs should the Jones Art be revoked.

Who Still Benefits

The Merchant Marine -Since 1955 to today the number of U.S. flagged merchant marine ships shrank from over 1,000 to almost 200 today. With automation and the shrinking fleet the number of maritime workers has been reduced by over 85%. So these acts have not done anything to protect American jobs in over 50 years.

The problem today is that American shipyards no longer build this kind of ships. It’s is also too expensive to flag ships in America for a number of reasons and it is difficult to find American maritime workers.

Today the only real beneficiaries from the Passenger Service Act and the Jones Act are law firms and lawyers who specialize mostly in injuries at sea cases or maritime labor disputes. Another group involves companies that profit from the heavily trafficked and regulated sea routes between the mainland’s coast of the United States and the nation’s various island.

It is possible to fix this by offering incentives to change the dynamics of ship building and U.S. flag requirements but several attempts at legislation have failed over the years. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced the Open America’s Waters Act recently to end the Jones Act on the grounds that it hampers trade and leads to exorbitant prices of goods. While Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.), have called for only temporary waivers to transport natural gas and perhaps more oversight from the Department of Justice. Several Florida ports are home to large companies that receive significant benefits from these acts requirements.

Todays Featured Poster • Saint Vincent & The Grenadines

St. Vincent has been gaining in popularity as a port of call on Caribbean cruises. The large island is Saint Vincent but the country itself includes a majority of the island group known as the Grenadines in the Caribbean. Located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, they include 230 square miles of territory that consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and 32 smaller islands including Bequia, Mustique, Union Island, Canouan, Petit Saint Vincent, Palm Island, Mayreau and Young Island.

These giclée prints will soon be available in several sizes and styles, custom printed for each individual order on archival, museum grade paper using fade resistant inks.

Join us as we visit historic treasures, natural wonders and vibrant cities set against backdrops that are endlessly changing and visually magnificent. Celebrate a world of travel experiences with these posters that are perfect for framing.

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What The Heck Is The Jones Act

Ever tried to book back-to-back cruises and the cruise company says you can’t book it because it invokes the Jones Act? The Jones Act is a 100-year-old regulatory relic instituted during the Wilson administration to protect our maritime industry.

Actually the Jones Act applies to the movement of cargo and goods but is often blamed by the cruise companies when actually it is the Passenger Vessel Services Act, (PVSA), 46 U.S.C. § 55103 (b), that places the restrictions on the movement of people. Maybe the Jones Act is easier to say? It is this Passenger Vessel Services Act that prohibits commercial vessels such as cruise ships from allowing passengers to board at one U.S. port and debark at another U.S. port.The short description for both says that you cannot transport cargo or passengers between two American ports unless you use ships built in American shipyards, flagged as an American ship and crewed by U.S. citizens. The problem for the cruise industry is America doesn’t build many cruise ships any more, it is expensive to flag ships in the U.S. and even more difficult to staff ships with U.S. citizens.

While it is a nuisance for the cruise industry it is a disaster for American business and our economy. As of 2016 there are less than one hundred tankers in the world that meet the Jones Act requirements. Because of this it is cheaper to ship U.S. oil to Europe from Texas than to refineries in New Jersey. What that means is our oil companies import more expensive oil while at the same time we export our oil. While complicated, the Jones Act is one of the things standing in the way of our energy distribution. One example is that several times more oil moves throughout the United States by train than using energy efficient ocean tankers.

One of the more insane things that happened as a result of the Jones Act occurred during the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Norway dispatched three specialized oil clean-up ships to help with the disaster but the U.S. government wouldn’t allow them to help because of the Jones Act so they returned to Norway. The Trump administration actually temporarily suspended the Jones Act twice. Once to help move oil out of Texas after major hurricanes and to speed up aid to Puerto Rico after the devastating hurricane there.

There have been a number of locations where the cruise industry has wanted to serve the American traveler by embarking in one port and disembarking in another. Hawaii is one of those locations, providing inter-island cruises as well as cruises originating on the West Coast. New England cruises and Alaska are two other cruise destinations that would benefit by not having complications of these acts. In the case of Alaska there are a number of popular week-long itineraries that go one way, but because of the Jones Act they depart out of Vancouver instead of the U.S. port of Seattle. Recently we wanted to take the last Alaska cruise of the year from Seattle and stay on for a cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii, but because we would embark in Seattle and disembark in Honolulu the Jones Act prevented it.

If you are a cruiser maybe it’s time you suggest to your congressman that the Jones Act has outlived its usefulness. Even if cruising isn’t your thing you should still consider contacting your congressman. The acts cost you money at the gas pump by adding one or two billion dollars to fuel transportation costs each year and also prevents economical use of LNG in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam. Puerto Rico is the most negatively impacted by a number of elements in the acts. There are still a number lobbies that fight to keep these acts from being repealed and that includes labor unions, like the long shoremen and law firms that work injuries at sea cases. It has been suggested a number of times that the act could be eliminated for our island territories at least and new laws could be passed designed to cover American labor impacted by the health issues involved. Unfortunately even though there are almost no union jobs being protected by the acts it seems that special interest lobbies still take priority in Congress over the best interests of an uninformed public.

Todays Featured Poster • Barbados

The docks in Bridgetown, Barbados’ Capital and Largest City. Established in 1628 and boasting a population of nearly 300,000, Bridgetown is the true heart of Barbados. Both this island’s capital and largest city, it’s a remarkable place steeped in history, featuring a unique blend of African, American and British heritage.

These giclée prints will soon be available in several sizes and styles, custom printed for each individual order on archival, museum grade paper using fade resistant inks.

Join us as we visit historic treasures, natural wonders and vibrant cities set against backdrops that are endlessly changing and visually magnificent. Celebrate a world of travel experiences with these posters that are perfect for framing.

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Todays Featured Poster • Willemsted Curacao

The jewel of the Dutch Antilles and the largest of the ABC islands, Curacao is a tropical paradise. The capital of Willemsted offers a sense that Holland had been moved to the Caribbean with its classic Dutch architecture painted up in tropical pastel colors. Great beaches, duty free shopping and restaurants and cafes.

These giclée prints will soon be available in several sizes and styles, custom printed for each individual order on archival, museum grade paper using fade resistant inks.

Join us as we visit historic treasures, natural wonders and vibrant cities set against backdrops that are endlessly changing and visually magnificent. Celebrate a world of travel experiences with these posters that are perfect for framing.

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Don’t Become A Pack Horse While Traveling

What you need to pack when traveling is a topic that generates a lot of discussion and there are a number of extreme positions. Ever seen that couple at airport baggage check-in with seven or more suitcases? What’s in those suitcases? There’s also the person that comes to the international air terminal carrying only a small backpack??

Over the years we have taken month long international trips several times a year and have developed an approach to what to carry and how to pack that we think works really well.

The first approach involves picking the right wardrobe. Be careful and select only clothes that travel well. The new moisture wicking fabrics are a real miracle. They resist wrinkles and rinse out and dry quickly. Taking the time every few days to rinse out a few things and have them dry overnight is a small price to pay in traveling light. More information HERE.

Suitcases

Most importantly select luggage that is easy to handle and that you can carry yourself.

22″ carry on suitcases are our first choice. First they can be carried even though we usually do check them. With the two of us traveling together and each carrying the 22″ suitcase along with a backpack, we can carry everything we need and that includes a blazer and a nice dress. More importantly we can strap the backpack to the extended suitcase handle and we’re ready to walk for blocks, navigate train stations and port facilities.

Two Wheels Or Four?

Today the most popular suitcases are the newer four wheel versions. While it’s true they require less effort moving through the smooth floors of terminals they’re not good for rougher terrain and become awkward with a backpack attached. Those extra two wheel also tend to cost you a not insignificant amount of interior space. Every inch counts.

Packing Cubes Help Organize Your Suitcase

I’m not sure what we did before they showed up in the marketplace. If you’re concerned that these might take up room when packing, stop worrying. They’re lightweight and take up very little room. What they do though is greatly improve organization.

First, when we pack we split our clothes between the suitcases – especially if we’re going to be checking them. The cubes are also a great way to segregate hers and mine. No more me rummaging around in a suitcase looking for something of mine while messing up her stuff.

We also pack a cube as an overnighter. Just one change each for that night in transit in a hotel. Planning and packing ahead make that night or two so much easier.

Backpacks Are Popular For A Reason

We each have our own style in backpacks and we carry our own assortment of necessities so deciding on which to carry becomes an individual decision. Our backpacks are always our carry-on and are loaded with those items that we don’t trust out of our sight and that means those medications and TSA approved liquids.

His

I’m old school ex-military and I’m used to hauling a big field pack. I also travel with maybe too much gear. Cameras, laptop, tablet and charging accessories. I also carry a small first aid kit and a miniature tool kit. My choice is a “mil-spec” backpack with lots of molle pouches as add ons. They’re those a small extra cases that are designed to be attached to the outside of the backpack. There are three large compartments that when empty can be cinched down to flat.

As a carry-on I’ve never been challenged and even in South America when I realized I was 12 pounds over weight for a carry-on nobody seemed to care.

Hers

My wife has a few backpacks but she’s partial to those with a bottle carrying net pocket and two larger pockets. She’s down to traveling with just a tablet, a folder full of those travel documents and those TSA approved meds and stuff. Maybe a change of cloths and a light jacket.

Ours

We also always carry a lightweight compact backpack in a travel pouch. It’s great for days out and about and some shopping trips and it’s become a necessity. Look for one that’s in a pouch and is water proof.

Our Curated Collection

Carry-On Combo

A good choice in a 22″ 2 wheel carry-on. Soft side with two outside pockets and a nice matching carry-on.

Under $60 from Amazon with Prime

Economical Packing Cubes

  • A lightweight set of six packing cubes in three sizes. Large(15.75’’x11.61’’x3.54’’)x2
  • Meduim(12.99’’x9.65’’x3.54’’)x2
  • Small(10.24’’x7.87’’x3.54’’)x2.

About $25 on Amazon with Prime

My Mil-Spec Pack

A really good quality, heavy duty backpack that can be easily reconfigured. Includes a ton of extra straps and a molle attachment system.

Under $60 on Amazon with Prime

Travel Pouch & Pack

A handy carry along 20 L backpack that fits into its 5″x4″ pouch and weighs only about a third of a pound.

Around $10 on Amazon with Prime

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