Seafarers Fret Over New Assault on Jones Act in Wake of Storms
- Slide in U.S.-flagged ships comes despite law’s protections
- Shippers call for end of 100-year-old law that raises costs
Who Pays The Bill When Mother Nature Strikes?
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On the darkened bridge of the Chesapeake Trader, with radio chatter filling the air, three officers were easing the giant freighter into San Francisco Bay when an unexpected vessel suddenly appeared on the starboard side. They scrambled to avoid catastrophe.
The computerized simulation -- conducted in a landlocked office park outside Baltimore -- is part of a two-week course offered by the International Order of Masters, Mates & Pilots. The union facility was once packed with students working their way up the ranks, but attendance has plunged as the number of U.S.-flagged, oceangoing freighters has fallen from nearly 3,000 in 1960 to fewer than 170 today.