page_title: United States Merchant Marine
section_title: The Jones Act
hierarchical_section_title: United States Merchant Marine / Important laws / The Jones Act
caption_attribution_description: English: Wesley Livsey Jones, US Senator from Washington
context_page_description: The United States Merchant Marine refers to either United States civilian mariners, or to U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, and engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine primarily transports cargo and passengers during peacetime; in times of war, the Merchant Marine can be an auxiliary to the United States Navy, and can be called upon to deliver military personnel and materiel for the military. Merchant Marine officers may also be commissioned as military officers by the Department of Defense. This is commonly achieved by commissioning unlimited tonnage Merchant Marine officers as Strategic Sealift Officers in the United States Navy Reserve.
  Merchant mariners move cargo and passengers between nations and within the United States, and operate and maintain deep-sea merchant ships, tugboats, towboats, ferries, dredges, excursion vessels, charter boats and other waterborne craft on the oceans, the Great Lakes, rivers, canals, harbors, and other waterways.
context_section_description: The "Merchant Marine Act of 1920", often called "The Jones Act", required U.S.-flagged vessels to be built in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and documented ("flagged") under the laws of the United States. Documented means "registered, enrolled, or licensed under the laws of the United States". The Act also required that all officers and 75% of the crew be U.S. citizens. Vessels satisfying these requirements comprised the "Jones Act Fleet", and only these vessels were allowed to engage in "cabotage", or carrying passengers or cargo between two U.S. ports. There are countries in which, due to lower labor standards and prevailing wages, are much cheaper to document a vessel than the United States. Critics of the act claim it unfairly restricts the lucrative domestic shipping business. Another important aspect of the Act is that it allowed injured sailors to obtain compensation from their employers for the negligence of the owner, the captain, or fellow members of the crew.
caption: The Jones Act was sponsored by Senator Wesley Livsey Jones of Washington.
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