JONES ACT SUPPORTERS SAY SHIP ORDER IS STEP FORWARD FOR U.S. YARDS

   An order for two U.S.-built roll-on/roll-off ships to be operated in the
domestic trades is a major step in reviving the U.S. shipbuilding industry, said a large coalition of shipping lines and other companies belonging to the Maritime Cabotage Task Force.
   The ships will be built in San Diego by the National Steel and
Shipbuilding Corporation at a cost of $300 million and will be operated
Totem Ocean Trailer Express between Anchorage, Alaska and Tacoma, Wash., beginning in 2002.
   "This contract illustrates all the benefits of the Jones Act," said Phil
Grill, chairman of the task force. The Jones Act is a nearly 80-year-old
cabotage law which limits domestic waterborne shipping to vessels that are U.S.-owned, built and crewed.
   "Construction in an American shipyard will strengthen the shipbuilding
capability that our defense community considers indispensable to its
ability to protect our interests worldwide," Grill said. "Shippers will
benefit from the efficiencies that accompany a new generation of vessels. The shipboard jobs will sustain the maritime skills our nation needs when the Ready Reserve Fleet is activated to supply troops overseas."