Repealing the Jones Act - Research Paper Example

This historical act can be found in Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. The act professed that goods & passengers transported by water between US ports must be done in US made ships, owned by US populace & crewed by US citizens. The Jones Act also provided sailors with supplementary rights, including the facility to look for reparation from the crew, captain, or ship owner in the case of an injury. The Jones Act generally deals with ‘cabotage’ (i.e. coastal shipping) & requires that all goods transported by water amid US ports be carried in US flag ships, constructed in the united states, owned by US populace , crewed by US people & US permanent inhabitants.

This unique act was framed with the purpose of sustaining the US merchant marine industry, but agricultural welfare by and large opposed it for the reason that, they contended it raised the expenditure of shipping their commodities, making them less competitive against foreign sources. The great Gulf oil spill raised serious questions on the implications of this draconian act. The oil which had been squandering & demolishing aqua habitat could not be stopped for the sole reason of the legal bindings of this law.

The US alone never possessed the arsenal of cleaning up this catastrophic mess. Yet, it remained reluctant when foreign nations repeatedly suggested utilizing their ships to meet this disaster. Thus, 2010 witnessed this cruel drama while the endangered ecological equilibrium slowly drifted into the abyss of oblivion. This implied that foreign owned, built, & manned vessels could not assist in the oil spill cleanup mess unless of course President Barrack Hussein Obama waived or altered the Jones act.

During the Katrina storms, the former president Bush decided to waive the laws of Jones act as a requirement of national emergency. But Obama opted to remain frigid & witness the blunders rather than becoming pro active & deciding according to the needs of the hour.