To JonesAct…Thanks for your post. My comments are provided in red:
[quote=Jones Act;10957]
There is no question that the Jones Act is partly a cabotage law; there is no question that the term seaman is not exclusive to just American seaman and there are clearly persons all over the world, (whatever their citizenship) that work hard day in and day out on the water (a commonality that joins all of ya’ll together) subjecting themselves to the sea’s perils; I for one have never questioned the ability, knowledge or professionalism of foreign seafarers. You are correct when you say that in the end we are brothers in our chosen profession and whether one sails on a US flagged or Vanuatu flagged vessel the work is the same for the seamen aboard.
there is no question that the US laws currently permit the USCG to exempt foreign vessels from the Jones act if certain criteria are met; You are correct when you say that there are legal means to permit engaging foreign seafarers for vessels working on the OCS but it is how those means are not used as exception by certain vessel owners but instead as something that they feel entitled to and how their claims to be attempting to recruit US seafarers for their vessels are as hollow as they come.
there is no question that US seaman are qualified to do the work given the opportunity; There are some US mariners working in the Gulf who already have the licenses(unlimited tonnage), certificates (DPO) and all the required experience to begin working on these vessels but there are not enough of these. There are however many young graduates of the various maritime academies who are fully ready to become junior DPOs and thus become a pool of mariners training to assume the more senior officer positions on these particular vessels. What is barring them to gaining the experience which they need is not getting the opportunities to get started.
there is no question that US made vessels either exist or could easily be manufactured to meet the GoM job requirements; The number is increasing of US built specialty subsea vessels but that growth is not able to keep up with the demand for these ships and until the day comes when there are enough of these vessels foreign built ships are needed. Since these vessels do not carry cargo offshore they do not need to be Jone’s Act qualified but it would be nice is someday they all are. I leave this up to the US vessels companies like ECO, HOS or OCLLC to deal with.
and there is no question that there are foreign flagged and foreign crewed vessels operating in the GoM with permission. You are correct but that “permission” you speak of is being granted without challenge from American mariners who by law are supposed to be doing the work.
It also appears clear that the GoM employers have been fairly successful in keeping the GoM free of substantive unionization. That is a matter seperate from the foreign mariner issue which I do not want to make part of the discussion here now.
Finally, it appears pretty clear that the Obama Administration is very union friendly and the passage of the card-check ballots may bring unions to the GoM quicker than some would prefer. As stated above.
Many countries have cabotage laws. Darned right they do and enforced to the letter! Go to either Australia or Brazil to see how they treat foreign vessels that come to work in their waters.
Personally, I believe that the injury side of the Jones act may have been some impetus for the decline in US flagged vessels. Employers do not like paying large monetary awards nor do their insurers. There is no question that “other” countries’ laws do not compensate an injured mariner at the level that an injured US seaman can be compensated. That is probably due to (1) the US as a whole is more litigous than other countries (in some countries an injured seaman can not sue if they wanted to) and (2) our judicial system allows for more than just economc damages being paid, [I]e.g.,[/I] pain and suffering, mental anguish, physical disfigurement, physical impaitrment, etc. Amercian mariners are villified by foreigners and Americans both for many reasons which I personally feel is unfair and not deserved. However some US seamen have abused the welfare provisions afforded them by the Jone’s Act and have as a result sullied our reputation as a result.
There has been an assult on the Jones act at many levels. Just recently,
at the Trans-Pacific Maritime Conference (March 1-3), Rob Quartel, a long-time critic of the Jones Act and a former Federal Maritime Commissioner, criticized the Jones Act, saying it should be abolished. He further said that the constraints of the Jones Act have “utterly destroyed our domestic shipping.” Congressional and Administration leadership has always supported the Jone’s Act and continues to do so today. We have nothing to worry about from Mr. Quartel.
Depending on where you stand, Mr. Quartel’s statement may be music to your ears. If, on the other hand, you believe that the Jones Act’s caboatage aspects should be adhered to, I believe you should write your congressman, Senators, and Representative Elijah cummings (Chairman of the Sub-Committee involving the USCG) The only way to bring about change is to make both the Congress and the Administration aware of what is happening. Letter writing from only a couple of mariners will not gain traction. Letters from many will I believe. It is only unfortunate that our industry is a relatively small one thus media coverage is unlikely.
Well, its getting late. Good night.
I Wish You Calm Seas. Likewise I am sure[/quote]