CBP steps up Jones Act enforcement capability

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has created a dedicated team to monitor violations of coastwise shipping rules as supporters tout the Jones Act’s homeland security benefits.    U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has created a national division for enforcing maritime cabotage laws.
   In a July 6 notice to the trade community, the agency said the Jones Act Division of Enforcement (JADE) will help provide a uniform approach to ensure that only coast-wise qualified vessels are transporting merchandise and passengers between domestic ports.
   The 1920 Jones Act requires that any cargo moving between two points in the United States by water is carried on American-built, American-crewed and American-owned vessels.
   The domestic shipping industry argues that the law is necessary to maintain a viable merchant marine and a domestic shipbuilding industry, which is important economically and for the U.S. military.
   Opponents argue the law is protectionist and drives up the cost of commodities because American vessels are much more expensive to own and operate.
   The JADE will be located in New Orleans and staffed with personnel who can assist companies with questions and concerns and coastal shipping, accept tips of potential violations and educate interest groups about the law.
   The maritime news site gCaptain first reported about the JADE.
   On July 7, the head of a trade association representing U.S.-flag vessel operators on the Great Lakes told a congressional panel that the Jones Act also provides a strong homeland security benefit because vessels owned and crewed by Americans pose less risk for smuggling, illegal immigration and terrorism than foreign vessels.
   American mariners all undergo extensive background checks in order to receive their licenses and Transportation Worker Identification Credential, James Weakley, president of the Laker Carrier’s Association, said in prepared testimony to a joint hearing held by the Homeland Security and Transportation & Infrastructure committees.
   Many foreign crew members are unknown to U.S. law enforcement authorities, who often have to rely on less rigorous screening practices of foreign nations, to keep tabs of mariners, he added.
  Recent attempts to repeal the Jones Act have not been successful and Weakley urged continued support for the law on homeland security grounds.
  Daniel Goure of the Lexington Institute, also argued in a June paper that the Jones Act makes it easier for border enforcement agencies to do their job because they don’t have to treat domestic vessel movements the same way they do foreign vessels entering U.S. ports. The federal budget is heavily constrained and expanding the mission of the Coast Guard, CBP and other agencies would require resources for domestic vessel monitoring at the expense of monitoring threats on foreign vessels.
   “The task of securing U.S. seaports and foreign cargoes is daunting by itself. It makes no sense to add to the burden facing domestic security agencies by allowing foreign-owned ships operated by foreign crews to move freely throughout America’s inland lakes, rivers and waterways,” Goure wrote. “The requirement that all the officers and fully 75 percent of the crews of vessels engaged in cabotage be U.S. citizens goes a long way to reducing the risk that terrorists could get onboard or execute an attack on a U.S. target.
  “In effect, there is a system of self-policing that reduces the requirement for law enforcement and homeland security organizations to expend time and effort to ensure that these vessels and crews are safe to traverse U.S. waters. Were the Jones Act not in existence, the Department of Homeland Security would be confronted by the difficult and very costly requirement of monitoring, regulating and overseeing foreign-controlled, foreign-crewed vessels in coastal and internal U.S. waters,” he wrote.
   The Lexington Institute is a think tank that argues for limited government.