You tighten a flange one bolt at a time (yes that's a metaphor)

Professional Mariner Forum
1

And you have to go around more than once to get it tight.
Yes of course that’s a metaphor too

Like Estragon and Vladimir we tend to wait for that one person, or event, or group to come along and save our industry, bad news, who ever we’re waiting ain’s showing up.

So it’s up to us, all of us, to save the U.S. Flag Merchant Marine.

To move the politicians we you need one of two things, money or numbers, and to get numbers we’ll need more than just ourselves.

The public must be educated, do people think the Jones Act is an archaic law that makes Puerto Rico poor, or do they see it as a labor law that protects U.S. workers from unfair foreign competition?

Do people around you understand the importance of the merchant marine in defense?

Salvatore R. Mercogliano made a great step here with an editorial in the Navy Times (https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2019/05/14/op-ed-the-merchant-marine-americas-fourth-arm-of-defense/)

I suggest taking advantage of any and every opening, most of us cannot get an editorial published, but we can respond to comments, even (perhaps especially in your local “alt” weekly

But beyond all that, look for any opening to advertise the merchant marine, recommend Rose George’s book, try and get local papers to write positive stories about us, anything positive will help

I’m willing to wager that there are a lot of people in Utah who would support us, if the understood the issues, imagine how Sen Mike Lee might react if he got a few hundred letters from voters in Utah opposing his plan to repeal the Jones Act?

2

above all other things the Jones Act is a shipyard protection act that forces the US users of shipping services to pay noncompetitive subsidies to US ship yards either directly or indirectly. Despite all arguments to the contrary - it is not a sailor subsidy. Or a US control of tonnage subsidy. If US owners had been allowed to purchase tonnage at competitive prices from foreign yards, and pay some reasonable re-flagging penalty, there is a good case to be made that there would be more bottoms with US flags, and more jobs for US seafarers.

3

Your first obstacle is the vast majority of the population that could not possibly care less about what happens on the water.
I hate to say this, but fear of TerroristTowBoats Inc. towing barges of nitroglycerin past their town might be the only thing that gets their attention.

4

Then use that, though in a perhaps less sarcastic way.

But I think that if the issues were explained most people would care, or at least care enough to support us