At least two SIU-crewed ships that normally sail in the Jones Act trades recently were deployed in support of the second phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom.The Westward Venture and the Northern Lights, operated by SIU-contracted Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE), are overseas as part of the mission.
The Northern Lights also was chartered by the U.S. Military Sealift Command in February 2003 for wartime sealift operations.
Both the Westward Venture and the Northern Lights are Ponce Class ships that sail in the Alaska trade.
The Jones Act, a pillar of the U.S.-flag fleet, requires that cargo moving from one domestic port to another be carried aboard U.S.-crewed, U.S.-built, U.S.-owned vessels.
In promoting the Jones Act, the Maritime Cabotage Task Force (a coalition of 400 companies and other organizations across the nation, including the SIU) notes, “The arguments in support of the Jones Act are compelling ones: jobs, safety, environmental protection, efficiency, and national security, all provided at no expense to the U.S. taxpayer and without a dime of subsidy from the federal government.”
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