Securing smooth sailings.

• Author: Brelsford, Harry
• Position: Seattle, Washington renews link with Alaska through cruise ships

Seattle is aggressively renewing its historic link with Alaska via cruise ships. Approximately 6,000 passengers per day are bussed from Seattle's Sea-Tac Airport to downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, to embark on Alaskan cruises. That's due to a set of 100-year-old laws (the Jones Act and the Passenger Services Act) that protects the U.S. ship-building industry by preventing foreign-built vessels from traveling between two U.S. ports.

Now, due to several recent developments, these outdated practices may soon change.

EFFECTS OF THE UNSOELD LEGISLATION

Rep. Jolene Unsoeld (D-Wash.) has successfully introduced and guided two cruise ship bills in the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 3821 & H.R. 3822) that effectively allow cruise ship operators to work within the existing regulatory framework that penalizes foreign-built vessels. These bills would boost U.S. shipbuilding, coastal cruises, maritime jobs and cruise business for American port cities.

Key provisions of the bills include:

* Reflagging Provision: Owners of foreign-flagged vessels must promise to begin building U.S. replacement ships within three years of the bills' passage. Once a contract is signed for vessel construction, cruise operators can reflag a foreign-built vessel and operate it in U.S. trade waters indefinitely.

* Financial Incentives: Federal loan guarantees and other financial incentives, including a capital construction fund, are offered for domestic shipbuilding.

* Foreign Ownership: Unsoeld's bills increase the amount of foreign capital permitted in a company from 25 percent to 49 percent, easing foreign joint ventures.

* Bumping Privileges: U.S. flagged ships enjoy a "preference" for Glacier Bay and other national parks unless another operator is...