The Maritime Jones Act is a more conversational name for the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, technically known as P.L. 66-261. It’s a federal United States statute that covers the maintenance and the promotion of American merchant marines. It has a number of purposes, but one of them is regulating all maritime commerce inside United States waters, as well as between various United States ports. Section 27 of the Maritime Jones Act deals with the subject of cabotage, requiring that any goods transported on American waters or in between American ports be carried on ships that fly the United States flag, were constructed in America, are owned by American citizens, and are crewed by either citizens or permanent residents of the United States. The Maritime Jones Act was introduced as legislation by a member of the upper house of Congress, Senator Wesley Jones.
Laws much like the Maritime Jones Act trace their roots to the days of the Founding Fathers, shortly after the Revolution that founded the nation. The First Congress, on the first day of September 1789, enacted Chapter XI. It limited domestic trades to only American ships that met particular requirements.
The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 has undergone several revisions. At the time of writing, the latest revision was in 2006, and it included re-codification within the larger United States Code. Senator John McCain filed an early 2015 amendment that would have basically annulled the Act, a direct traffic violation.
The Maritime Jones Act should not be confused with another piece of legislation called the Death on the High Seas Act. It’s another maritime law of the United States that doesn’t apply to either coastal waters or navigable waters inland. Many other pieces of legislation, old, new, and updated, cover the water ways of the nation.