A US District Court decision has dismissed a challenge to the US Merchant Marine Act of 1920, commonly known as the Jones Act, which ensures vessels transporting cargo from point to point in the United States must be American-built, -owned and -crewed.
In a 46-page opinion, Chief Judge James E. Boasberg of the US District Court for the District of Columbia rejected claims that the Jones Act violates the Due Process Clause and the obscure Port Preference Clause of the Constitution.
Local lobby group the American Maritime Partnership (AMP) said the ruling, "reaffirms the statute’s vital role in maintaining America’s merchant marine for commercial and national security purposes as part of a long-standing history of American cabotage."
Mr Boasberg found that the Jones Act is, “neutral legislation that does not create any direct preferences by channeling commerce through the ports of one state at the expense of others.”
Mr Boasberg's ruling emphasised that the Jones Act, “emerged from a centuries-old tradition of cabotage laws,” and, “applies uniformly across transportation modes, including aviation.” According to the AMP, this reflects consistent national policy across modes of transportation rather than discrimination against any particular state or region, as the plaintiff Koloa Rum Company claimed.
Hawaii-based Koloa Rum Company had filed the lawsuit challenging the act in February 2025. In the suit, the company asserted that the act violated the Port Preference Clause, resulting in inflated costs on the part of businesses in non-contiguous states such as Hawaii and Alaska.
