About

The Jones Act and other U.S. maritime cabotage laws require that cargo and passengers moving between two points in the United States be carried on vessels that are U.S.-owned, U.S.-built and U.S.-crewed. Other statutes reserve dredging, towing and salvage in U.S.waters to vessels that meet these requirements.

The MCTF is the most broad-based coalition the U.S. maritime industry has ever assembled to promote the cabotage laws. Its 350-plus members span the United States and its territories and represent vessel owners and operators, shipboard and shoreside labor groups, shipbuilders and repair yards, marine equipment manufacturers and vendors, trade associations, dredging and marine construction contractors, pro-defense groups and companies in other modes of domestic transportation. These diverse but allied interests share a common goal: to promote the long-standing U.S. maritime cabotage laws. Upon a foundation of U.S. ownership, construction and crews, the United States has built an unsubsidized domestic fleet that is the world leader in efficiency, innovation and safety.

Board of Directors

Maritime Cabotage Task Force Board
Standing, from left to right:Frank Pecquex, Thomas Allegretti, James Rausch, Jim Henry, Eric Smith, Charles Crangle, Allen Walker (Matthew Paxton now represents the Shipbuilders Council). Seated, from left to right: Alan Butchman (retired May 2007), Philip Grill, Mike Roberts, Robert Zuckerman, Jim Weakley.

Philip Grill, Chairman
Matson Navigation Company

Thomas Allegretti
The American Waterways Operators

Charles Crangle
American Maritime Officers

James Henry
Transportation Institute

Robert Magee
American Shipping Group

Matthew Paxton
Shipbuilders Council of America

Frank Pecquex
Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO

James Rausch
Dredging Contractors of America

Chuck Raymond
Robert Zuckerman
Horizon Lines

Michael Roberts
Crowley Maritime Corp., Venable LLP

Eric Smith
Overseas Shipholding Group

Allen Walker
Shipbuilders Council of America

Jim Weakley
Lake Carriers' Association