Prerequisites
Ways Into the US Merchant Marine. This lesson explains how the US maritime industry is organised so you can see where the jobs are. It is not legal advice, and the numbers of ships and programmes change each year.
Learning Objectives
- Explain what the Jones Act requires, and why it creates most deep-sea jobs for US mariners.
- Describe the other laws that keep cargo on US-flag ships: cargo preference and the Maritime Security Program.
- Name the main sectors where US mariners work, from inland towing to government ships.
- Name the main seafarers' unions and explain how jobs are filled through a hiring hall.
- Describe Military Sealift Command, civil service mariners and the reserve fleets.
- Weigh union, non-union and government jobs for your own career.
Why US-Flag Ships Are Rare
Most of the world's merchant ships fly flags of convenience such as Panama, Liberia or the Marshall Islands. Their owners pay lower taxes and can hire crews from anywhere in the world at world-market wages. A US-flag ship must have US officers and a mostly US crew, paid American wages, and follows US rules. On international routes that costs more, so only a few dozen large US-flag ships trade internationally.
Most of the big ships you see in US ports, like the one above, are foreign-flag ships on international routes. US mariners mostly work on the trades and programmes that the law keeps for US-flag vessels. The most important of these laws is the Jones Act.
The Jones Act
Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, sponsored by Senator Wesley Jones of Washington, is known as the Jones Act. It says that merchandise carried by water between two points in the United States must travel on vessels that pass four tests, shown in the diagram below.
- US-built: the hull built in a US shipyard.
- US-flagged: documented under US law with a coastwise endorsement.
- US-owned: owned by US citizens; for coastwise trade, at least 75 percent of a company must be owned by US citizens.
- US-crewed: the master and officers must be US citizens, and almost all the unlicensed crew must be US citizens or, within limits, permanent residents.
Fail any one and the vessel cannot carry cargo between US ports. A Panamanian container ship may unload in Los Angeles and load again in Oakland for Asia, but it may not carry a container from Los Angeles to Oakland.
The Jones Act trades
The law covers every domestic waterborne trade. The schematic below shows the main ones.
- Non-contiguous trades: container and roll-on/roll-off ships to Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico and Guam. These islands and Alaska depend on them for almost everything.
- Coastwise tankers and articulated tug-barges carrying fuel and chemicals along the coasts, especially from the Gulf of Mexico.
- Inland waterways: the Mississippi, Ohio, Illinois and Tennessee rivers and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, where towboats push huge tows of barges carrying grain, coal, chemicals and fuel.
- The Great Lakes: the lakers carrying iron ore, coal, stone and grain.
- Harbour work: tugs, dredges and supply vessels serving offshore platforms and wind farms.
The passenger rule
A separate older law, the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886, does the same for passengers between US places. This is why cruise ships sailing from Seattle to Alaska always call at a Canadian port, and why a foreign-built charter boat may need a waiver to carry passengers, as you saw in the previous lesson.
Waivers
The Jones Act can be waived in an emergency by the Department of Homeland Security, for example to bring fuel to a region after a hurricane. Waivers are rare, temporary and controversial.
The debate
Supporters say the Jones Act keeps a US shipbuilding base, a pool of trained US mariners for wartime, and secure domestic supply lines. Critics say it raises shipping costs, especially for Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico. Whatever you think of it, for a US mariner it is the law that creates most deep-sea jobs.
Other Laws That Keep Ships Under the US Flag
Cargo preference
Cargo preference laws require that government-financed cargo goes on US-flag ships: all military cargo, and a large share of food aid and other cargo paid for by federal agencies. US-flag ships in international trade depend on this cargo.
The Maritime Security Program
The Maritime Security Program (MSP), run by the Maritime Administration (MARAD), pays a yearly stipend to keep 60 commercial US-flag ships in international trade. In return, their owners agree to make the ships, their crews and their global networks available to the Department of Defense in wartime or emergency. A newer Tanker Security Program does the same for a small fleet of product tankers.
Where US Mariners Work
The diagram gives a rough picture of the job market.
| Sector | Typical vessels | Typical schedule | Licences |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inland and harbour | Towboats, harbour tugs, ferries, tour and charter boats | Day work, or 14 to 28 days on, the same off | Master or Mate of Towing Vessels, Master 100 to 1,600 GRT, OUPV |
| Offshore | Supply vessels, crew boats, wind farm service vessels | 14 to 28 days on and off | Limited tonnage Master and Mate, with STCW |
| Jones Act deep-sea | Containerships, tankers, ATBs | 60 to 120 days on, then time off | Unlimited Third Mate upward, ABs, QMEDs |
| Government | Military Sealift Command, NOAA, Army Corps of Engineers | Long tours for MSC, seasons for NOAA | Unlimited and limited licences |
| International US-flag | MSP ships, cargo preference ships | 60 to 120 days | Unlimited with STCW |
Towing: the biggest employer
More US mariners work in the towing industry than anywhere else. Towboat and tug officers hold the Master of Towing Vessels or Mate (Pilot) of Towing Vessels endorsement. You start as a deckhand, become a steersman in training, and complete a Towing Officer Assessment Record (TOAR): a set of practical tasks signed off by a qualified officer. It is a fast route to a well-paid wheelhouse job, and many ex-recreational sailors with Master 100 GRT licences move across.
Unions and Shipping Out
Much of the deep-sea US-flag fleet is crewed through unions. Each union has contracts with shipping companies and supplies the crews they need.
| Union | Who it represents |
|---|---|
| Seafarers International Union (SIU) | Unlicensed deck, engine and steward ratings on deep-sea, Great Lakes and inland vessels |
| Sailors' Union of the Pacific (SUP) | Unlicensed deck ratings, mostly West Coast |
| Marine Firemen's Union (MFOW) | Unlicensed engine ratings, West Coast |
| Masters, Mates and Pilots (MM&P) | Deck officers, also some ferries and pilots |
| Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (MEBA) | Engineers and some deck officers |
| American Maritime Officers (AMO) | Deck and engine officers |
| Inlandboatmen's Union (IBU) | Ferry and harbour workers, mostly West Coast |
How shipping out works
The diagram shows the cycle. Details differ by union.
- Register: after your last job you register at the hall and get a shipping card dated that day.
- Jobs are posted on the board in the hall or on the union's website or app.
- Bid: members bid on jobs. The job goes to the bidder with the highest seniority class, then the oldest shipping card, so the person who has been home longest gets the job.
- Ship out: you join the ship for the tour, often flying to meet it in a distant port.
- Come home: at the end of the tour you are paid off, take your time off, and register again.
Union members get benefits funded by the contracts: medical cover, pension, vacation pay and training at the union school. New members start in the lowest seniority class and take the jobs others pass over, which is how most people get their first ships.
Non-union companies
Most of the towing, offshore and passenger industries, and some deep-sea companies, are non-union. They hire directly: you apply like any other job, and you work a set rotation as their employee. Many mariners spend their whole career this way.
Government Ships
Military Sealift Command
Military Sealift Command (MSC) runs the Navy's support ships, named USNS (United States Naval Ship), not USS. They carry fuel, ammunition and stores to warships at sea, carry military cargo and run hospital ships, survey ships and special mission ships.
Most MSC ships are crewed by civil service mariners (CIVMARs): federal employees, not military, with a federal pension and benefits. Others are crewed by contract mariners from commercial companies. A small Navy detachment may be aboard for communications or security.
Work for MSC means long tours, often four months or more, and deployments far from home, but steady federal employment and the chance to do unusual work. The hospital ships Mercy and Comfort are crewed this way.
The reserve fleets
MARAD keeps a Ready Reserve Force of cargo ships, mostly roll-on/roll-off ships, in US ports with small maintenance crews of around ten mariners each. They can be brought to full crew and sent to sea within days. Older ships wait in the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Some MSC ships also sit in reduced operating status, like the large roll-on/roll-off ship below being towed between ports.
When a reserve ship activates, it needs a full crew of qualified mariners within days. That is one reason the government funds the academies and the Maritime Security Program: in a real emergency the limiting factor is often not ships but trained people.
NOAA and the Army Corps
NOAA runs research and survey ships crewed partly by civilian wage mariners and officers of the NOAA Corps. The Army Corps of Engineers runs dredges, survey boats and towboats on the rivers and harbours.
Worked Example: Comparing Two Offers
Taylor has just earned a Third Mate Unlimited licence through the hawsepipe and has two offers.
- Offer A: a union job through AMO on a Jones Act container ship to Hawaii. Tours of about 90 days on, then the same off. Union medical cover and pension.
- Offer B: MSC civil service, Third Officer on a fleet oiler. Four- to six-month deployments overseas. Federal pension and benefits.
Things to weigh: time at home (A gives more), job security (B is federal), travel (B goes worldwide), pay (compare the total yearly pay, not daily rates), and career path (both lead to Second Mate; the union route moves by seniority, MSC by federal promotion). Neither is wrong. Many mariners try both over a career.
Common Mistakes
- Thinking the US merchant marine is mostly deep-sea ships. Most jobs are inland, harbour and offshore.
- Confusing USNS with USS. USNS ships are civilian-crewed; USS ships are commissioned warships with Navy crews.
- Assuming any ship in a US port can carry domestic cargo. Only Jones Act ships can.
- Ignoring non-union jobs. Towing and offshore hire directly and offer fast promotion.
- Comparing daily pay without counting days worked per year, benefits and time at home.
Summary
- The Jones Act keeps domestic waterborne cargo for US-built, US-flagged, US-owned and US-crewed vessels.
- The Passenger Vessel Services Act does the same for passengers.
- Cargo preference laws and the Maritime Security Program keep a fleet of US-flag ships in international trade.
- Most US mariners work in inland, harbour, towing and offshore jobs; towing is the largest employer.
- Unions fill many deep-sea jobs through hiring halls by seniority and time ashore; much of the industry is non-union.
- Military Sealift Command crews USNS ships with civil service mariners; MARAD keeps a Ready Reserve Force.
Check Your Understanding
- What four tests must a ship pass to carry cargo between two US ports?
Answer: US-built, US-flagged, US-owned and US-crewed.
- Can a Liberian-flag container ship carry a container from Los Angeles to Oakland?
Answer: No. Only Jones Act ships may carry cargo between two US ports.
- Why do cruise ships from Seattle to Alaska call at a Canadian port?
Answer: Because of the Passenger Vessel Services Act: a foreign-flag ship may not carry passengers directly between two US ports.
- What does the Maritime Security Program do?
Answer: It pays a yearly stipend to keep 60 commercial US-flag ships in international trade, available to the military in an emergency.
- Which sector of the US industry employs the most mariners?
Answer: The inland and harbour sector, especially towing.
- What is a TOAR?
Answer: A Towing Officer Assessment Record: practical tasks signed off by a qualified officer, needed for a towing officer endorsement.
- Which union represents unlicensed ratings across deck, engine and steward departments?
Answer: The Seafarers International Union (SIU).
- In a union hall, who usually gets the job when several members bid?
Answer: The member in the highest seniority class, then the one with the oldest shipping card (home longest).
- What does USNS stand for, and who crews most USNS ships?
Answer: United States Naval Ship. Most are crewed by civil service mariners, who are federal civilian employees.
- What is the Ready Reserve Force?
Answer: A MARAD fleet of cargo ships kept in US ports with small crews, ready to be fully crewed and sent to sea within days.