On this episode of What’s Going on With Shipping, Sal Mercogliano – Chair of the Department of History, Criminal Justice and Political Science at Campbell University, former merchant mariner, and adjunct professor of Maritime Industry Policy at the US Merchant Marine Academy – discusses the United States first National Maritime Strategy, the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, commonly known as the Jones Act. He discusses the current situation faced by American exporters attempting to get their goods on board foreign flagged and owned ships and compares it to the situation the US faced in 1914 that led to the creation of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920.
The Merchant Marine Act of 1920
Value of the global merchant fleet hits a new all-time high
Imports Sustain Surge at Port of Los Angeles as Exports Continue to Crash
Port Congestion Double-Whammy Sinks Carriers’ Hopes of Schedule Recovery
U.S. Congressmen Introduce Legislation Targeting Foreign Ocean Carriers’ Business Practices
Review of Maritime Transport 2020
MARAD: Vessel Inventory Report
Advantage at Sea: Prevailing with Integrated All-Domain Naval Power
UNCTAD: China
UNCTAD: United States of America
Tweeted
I bet @history_yt has made a video on the #MerchantMarineAct of 1920
Another bill serving wants of politicians and #MilitaryIndustrialComplex
https://youtu.be/CNYsn2lFkMQ
Regarding Kuwait – USA were just paid mercenaries. Saudi Arabia paid Bush for the muscle. Pathetic! I met Colin Powell in 1988 or 89. He was NSA for GHW Bush. He asked me who I voted for. We just had the election. I said, "Sir I DIDN'T vote for Bush because the buzz was he WANTED war. Colin Powell said, That's okay. Wow! It was a hotbox there because the Colonel lectured to the soldiers about voting for Bush. Thing is, the elections are rigged anyway. Bush was going to win. I think he ran against his illegitimate son, Bill Clinton, who was born a month before GW Bush so GW couldn't be a junior. Our freaking government is run by sociopaths!
You know it's bad when we can't export anything when some are saying upwards of 15% inflation this year.
Hat tip to our good friend Dr. Rodney Carlisle at the 00:23:10 mark!
How about talking about Maersk's plan for a green methanol-powered vessel.
History presentation is terrific. I would have loved you as an instructor. I tidied in Illinois and got to teach myself during 35 years in Houston. I did not take my sailboat but did enjoy making sails and rigging ready for racing. I also did that in Rhode Island and on Lake Superior. Thank you.
It's all well and good to call for the creation of a strong US merchant marine, but how would you achieve that? There are only two levers policy makers can use, and neither are very feasible. 1) They can put restrictions on foreign owned shipping firms or 2) provide extensive US tax payer subsidy/funding for the construction of an American fleet. Imposing cabotage restrictions on foreign fleets will lead to huge diplomatic blowback and tit for tat trade wars. I very much doubt US politicians have the stomach for that. Likewise, raising hundreds of billions in tax payer money to fund US fleet construction is likewise a political non-starter.
Thus, any calls for a resurgent US merchant marine just sounds like wistful dreaming.
with all the accidents and dangers at sea, isnt air actually a better way of shipping? Air, truck, train, barge. Cargo ships have grossly over-extended themselves – in more than one way
Oh ! you were on the USN Comfort! I remember writing all the ships during Gulf War, including Comfort.
This maritime history is really interesting, Thanks Sal!
8/24/21: just saw yur video showing history of 1920 Jones Act then UN charts comparing US & China in many category's. Dr.Sal another great job educating us on details of shipping, blocking US exports by international ship owners! Where are our congressmen?🤔 Another great video/lecture!👍👍👍
Thanks for the history. Unfortunately governments can't resist regulating everything to within an inch of its life. Even your motor vehicle is statutorily required to treat you like you are the village idiot. The equation is simple. More rules, less enterprise. Free enterprise needs freedom. I would suggest that despite short term problems, the free market is still the best long term solution for the USA. The US Shipping Act is a pretty good example of that. I don't wish to cause offense, but essentially after WWII when the USA was a "smokestack economy" its' exports dominated world trade. Environmental regulation ended that. Now China is the "smokestack economy" where things are made and its booming. The two nations are at different points of economic evolution, and the USA can't go back to what it was. The irony is that the USA today is facing the same issues as the British were facing 70 years ago. To find the way forward, look at history (as you, the historian) would no doubt say.
I’ve read about The Jones Act! I’m pretty much an expert in the Alaska Northwest Passage shipping route. Not really, but I did read a lot of graduate papers on this subject. It’s a fascinating Act, but with far less ships being built in the US, parts of it need updating. Would you agree? Particularly with regard to US disaster aid reaching US Territories in a timely and efficient manner.
Awesome video as always 👌 you might want to change your thumbnail to something that grabs the eye and is less busy at a glance. Hope your channel keeps on growing, your opinion is well valued.
traitors, traitors, traitors, "Americans" giving away to China all loyalty. I mean you can see the value in history of the American ships run by Americans, with a presumption that they will be loyal to America. We are under attack as a nation from traitors from within our own borders! How did Rome fall? From within. Can this be straightened out professor?
SO special, thank you 🌺
Great job Sal. I thought I knew all about this, but learned a few new (old) things from you with this episode. This historical context is much appreciated. Thanks.
I have a second comment that relates to an earlier video you did and your enlightening me in the comments. Your discussion in this video is about the US being 21st is in Dead Weight Tons (DWT). Your introduction is not real clear that you are talking about DWT and not numbers of vessels. I mentioned in the comments of the earlier video by numbers we are not that bad. Over 3000 vessels. The majority of these by number, as you correctly pointed out to me, are pleasure craft and ferries. But a lot of the DWT is made up of these other ferries and pleasure craft vessels. They include towboats and tugboats as well. So 21st likely overstates our real position in the world of shipping. Many of these are captive vessels that generally do not leave the Great Lakes or our river systems. The number of ocean going tankers, bulkers and container ships is a mere drop in bucket. We have lost the infrastructure to build these vessels. We have lost the manufacturing skills and knowledge to make these vessels as well. Find a pattern maker or a machinist or millwright or a fabricator or tool maker.
By the way, if you want to see some of the pleasure craft and yachts that fill the numbers watch some of the videos from Haulover Inlet in Miami. The values of the crafts are stunning.
Another great video. I am too old and too far away to enroll in one of your classes. Your history class might be fascinating and your maritime policy lectures might be captivating.
In your list of influencers (41:40) that eliminated sections of the Jones Act you mentioned the politicians, shipping companies, the Military and then you said "everyone else." I think it is remiss to fail to specifically mention American manufacturing companies and their CEO's. They should likely bare the heaviest load in the general demise of the Jones Act over time. They are the ones that said, "I can save money if I hire that foreign shipping company to move my products to ….. And have an advantage over my competitor. Get the Jones Act sections our of my way." The competitor then said, "I will hire the cheapest fleet too." It will be the practical end of any US flagged shipping if the Jones Act is repealed. Even the Great Lakes will be very quickly converted to foreign shipping companies. The labor costs, if nothing else, would drop dramatically. Over time the cost of new ships will drop dramatically on the lakes. It is a vicious death spiral. This is also exactly how we lost so much American manufacturing and textiles to China and other south Asian countries. This is a very tricky slope though. I believe in both fair trade and free trade. It has to meet my personal definitions of fair and free. Now I have moved on to the tricky slope.
will you please present this history lesson to our congress today!!!!!
AWESOME LOVED THIS VERY RELLEVENT TO OUR TIME
4b1sr
vum.fyi
OMG, Really I was injured in a Convoy accident and was sent to a hospital ship during Shield/Storm! I wonder if it was that ship. I wasn't there very long as I remember it, they sent me back to Germany soon after.
Sal needs every Thumbs Up that he can get.
Another great video Sal and I first started watching you when you and GCaptain did your first video.