Mariners Fret Over Assault on Jones Act in Wake of Storms: Chart

(Bloomberg) -- The number of U.S.-flagged, oceangoing freighters has fallen from nearly 3,000 in 1960 to fewer than 170 today. The decline has occurred despite the Jones Act, a law that requires goods moving between U.S. ports and territories to be carried on American-built vessels crewed by American officers and deckhands. That's energized opponents of the nearly 100-year-old law, who say the protectionist measure hasn't saved the fleet and should be curtailed or eliminated once and for all.

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Flatley in Washington at dflatley1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, Mark Drajem