Phil Schifflin, Esq., Director of SCI’s Center for Mariner Advocacy, strives to stay abreast of laws that impact mariners, both foreign and domestic. Recently, Phil attended a presentation on U.S. cabotage laws, with a particular focus on the Jones Act where he was asked to lead the Pledge of Allegiance and deliver the invocation at the event. Cabotage—a term derived from the French word caboter, meaning “to sail along the coast”—refers to laws that reserve domestic transportation for a nation’s own vessels and operators.

The presentation was delivered by Mike Hebert of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Jones Act Division of Enforcement (JADE). Mike explained that the Jones Act is the primary cabotage law governing the U.S. maritime industry and outlined why it is vital to national security, the maritime industrial base, and jobs for U.S. mariners. He also discussed how the Act is enforced and some of the ways it is challenged, emphasizing that JADE works diligently to uphold its legislative intent.