NIT LEAGUE TO ADDRESS JONES ACT REFORM

   National Industrial Transportation League President Ed Emmett said it’s
time to discuss reforming the U.S. Jones Act.
   Though the NIT League has not yet taken an official position on the act,
created in 1920, which requires that ships transporting products within the
United States be U.S.-owned, U.S.-built and U.S.-crewed. Still, Emmett said "many members" of the league want to change the long-standing cabotage law.
   Citing an aging U.S. domestic shipping fleet, Emmett said the "stark
reality is beginning to set in" that these ships won’t be replaced unless
U.S. carriers are permitted to build abroad.
   If the U.S. building requirement is not removed, the fleet will not be
replaced and without new ships, U.S. seafarers will lose jobs, Emmett said.
   Knowing that the Jones Act is an emotional issue within the maritime
industry, Emmett said he hoped that reform could be "discussed in a
positive way."