Last week, in a hearing of the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, congressional representatives called for increased funding for the U.S. Coast Guard’s acquisition needs and questioned administrators on the status of America’s merchant fleet.
All present spoke in defense of the Jones Act, America’s cabotage law. Admiral Zukunft emphasized the quality of new LNG-fueled container ships being built for TOTE by American yard General Dynamics NASSCO, and said that that capacity would be lost without the Jones Act.
He added that port state control inspections show that “every day we detain 2-3 ships that arrive in the United States” for deficiencies, even though foreign flag states “uphold that they are [compliant].” For safety and security, he said, “no one does it better than the United States.”