[alexander_busek]

Wow! The only American flag cruise ship, The Pride of America does 7 day cruises to various Hawaiian Island and provide a good number of high paying jobs to everyone involved. But it is no surprise that the Hawaiian government would impose such a tax. Of course one solution-pull the Pride of America off the Hawaiian run, reflag the ship with the Panama flag and lay off all the American crew members. Foreign flag cruise ships can avoid the tax by not going to Hawaii or calling on fewer ports there.

Yeah, but isn't there a federal law mandating that foreign-flagged ships (ocean liners, but also commercial shipping) aren't allowed two consecutive ports-of-call in America?

Hence: U.S.-flagged ships can call at seven or more American ports consecutively, and thus crawl up the entire coastline - while foreign-flagged ships are limited to at most two, and must then dock at least once in a foreign port. Designed to prevent foreigners acquiring a monopoly on cabotage.

Correct me if I'm wrong!

Regards,

[Maine Mariner]

You are referring to the Jones Act passed in 1920.

It requires that ships that move cargo between two American ports-say load cargo in Houston and unload that cargo in NYC must be built in the USA, registered as an US Flag ship and carry a crew composed primarily of US citizens.

A foreign flag ship can load cargo in say Singapore and deliver some of it to San Francisco and the rest of it to Los Angles. What it is NOT permitted to do is load cargo in San Francisco and unload it in any US port, in this example Los Angles.