Editing Transportation in Puerto Rico (section)

==Seaports & harbors==
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Sea-based transportation of any merchandise or persons shipped entirely or even partly by water between U.S. points—either directly or indirectly via one or any number of foreign points—U.S. Federal Law requires that said items or persons must travel in U.S.-built, U.S.-crewed, U.S.-citizen owned vessels that are U.S.-documented by the Coast Guard for such maritime "[[cabotage]]" carriage. This transportation/trade restriction includes Puerto Rico under the Jones Act of 1920 (Merchant Marine Act of 1920). The [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920|Jones Act]] and various other United States laws that govern the domestic and domestic-foreign-domestic transportation of merchandise and passengers by water between two points in the United States, including Puerto Rico, have been extended to that island-territory since the initial years of United States' political relations. Currently, the only providers who ship from the United States to Puerto Rico are [[Crowley Maritime]], [[TOTE Maritime]], and [[Trailer Bridge]].

Strictly construed, the Jones Act refers only to Section 27 of the [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920]], ({{usc|46|883}}; 19 CFR 4.80 and 4.80(b)), which has come to bear the name of its original sponsor, Sen. [[Wesley L. Jones]]. Another law that was enacted in 1886 requires essentially the same standards for the transport of passengers between U.S. points, directly or indirectly transported through foreign ports or foreign points (46 App. U.S.C. 289; 19 CFR 4.80(a)). However, since the mid-1980s, as part of a joint effort between the [[cruise ship]] industry that serves Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican politicians such as then [[Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico|Resident Commissioner]], U.S. non-voting Representative [[Baltasar Corrada del Río]], obtained a limited-exception since no U.S. cruise ships that were Jones Act-eligible were participating in said market.

The application of these [[coastwise shipping]] laws and their imposition on Puerto Rico consist in a serious restriction of [[free trade]] and have been under scrutiny and controversy due to the apparent contradictory rhetoric involving the United States Government's sponsorship of free trade policies around the world, while its own national [[shipping]] policy (cabotage law) is essentially [[mercantilist]] and based on notions foreign to free-trade principles.

===Major ports===
* '''[[San Juan Port]]''' - Mainly divided in three: one in [[Old San Juan]] which includes cargo/freight and cruise ships, the Pan American Port Terminal in Isla Grande section mostly for cruise ships, and Puerto Nuevo Bay, exclusively for freight/cargo ships the belong to Guaynabo City not to San Juan. It is the main port of the island.
* '''[[Port of Ponce]]''' - The second largest port in Puerto Rico and can handle both freight/cargo and cruise ships. It is currently undergoing a significant expansion (see [[Port of the Americas]]), with plans to convert it to an international shipping hub.
* '''[[Port of Mayagüez]]''' - The third largest port in Puerto Rico. It is mainly used for freight/cargo ships but is also home to the [[Dominican Republic]]-Puerto Rico passenger ferry and has also been used for cruise ships.

===Minor ports and harbors===
The following are minor ports and harbors used for small freight/cargo ships, fishing vessels, and private boats/yachts: [[Guánica, Puerto Rico|Guánica]], [[Guayanilla, Puerto Rico|Guayanilla]], Guayama, Fajardo, [[Culebra, Puerto Rico|Culebra]], and [[Vieques, Puerto Rico|Vieques]].

There are ferries between Ceiba-Culebra and Ceiba-Vieques; between [[La lancha de Cataño|San Juan and Cataño]]; and between Ponce and [[Caja de Muertos]] (Coffin Island).

There are several private marinas in Puerto Rico for boats and yachts, the largest being Puerto del Rey in Fajardo and [[Club Naútico de Ponce]].

===Federal restrictions===
[[File:Map-of-jones-act-carrier-routes-for-puerto-rico.png|thumb|Map of [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920|Jones Act]] carrier routes for Puerto Rico.]]

The [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920]] (also known as the [[Merchant Marine Act of 1920|Jones Act]]) prevents foreign-flagged ships from carrying cargo between two American ports (a practice known as [[cabotage]]).{{efn|Gutierrez. "Mr. Chairman, we are here to express our support for any effort that would unburden the economy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from the unfair and unreasonable restrictions that stem from dispositions of the Merchant Marine Acts of 1920 and 1936 on trade conducted between the Commonwealth and the United States mainland."<ref name="erg-trade">{{cite web |url=http://graduados.uprrp.edu/planificacion/facultad/elias-gutierrez/ERGTRADE.pdf |title=Impact of the Coastwise Trade Laws on the Transportation System of the United States of America |first=Elías |last=Gutierrez |access-date=September 6, 2013 }}</ref>}}{{efn|Gutierrez. "Being treated as an extension of the United States coastline by the protectionist merchant marine statutes has imposed a heavy and unfair cost on United States citizens in Puerto Rico."<ref name="erg-trade" />}}{{efn|Gutierrez. "The Merchant Marine Acts inflict costs to the Puerto Rican economy."<ref name="erg-trade" />}}{{efn|name=joc-gao-report-repeal-quote|JOC (2013) "Repealing or amending the Jones Act cabotage law might cut Puerto Rico shipping costs"<ref name="joc-gao-report">{{cite news |url=http://www.joc.com/regulation-policy/transportation-regulations/united-states/gao’s-jones-act-report-inconclusive_20130320.html |title=GAO's Jones Act Report Is Inconclusive |newspaper=[[The Journal of Commerce]] |date=March 20, 2013 |access-date=September 6, 2013 }}</ref>}}{{efn|name=joc-gao-report-lower-costs-quote|JOC (2013) "The GAO report said its interviews with shippers indicated they [...] believed that opening the trade to non-U.S.-flag competition could lower costs."<ref name="joc-gao-report" />}} Because of the Jones Act, foreign ships inbound with goods from [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]], [[Western Europe]], and [[Africa]] cannot stop in Puerto Rico, offload Puerto Rico-bound goods, load mainland-bound Puerto Rico-manufactured goods, and continue to U.S. ports. Instead, they must proceed directly to U.S. ports, where distributors [[break bulk cargo|break bulk]] and send Puerto Rico-bound manufactured goods to Puerto Rico across the ocean by U.S.-flagged ships.{{efn|Gutierrez. "The "cabotage" laws impose significant restrictions on commerce between Puerto Rico and the U. S. mainland by requiring that merchandise and produce shipped by water between U.S. ports be shipped only on U.S.-built, U.S.- crewed, U.S.-flagged, and U.S.-citizen owned vessels."<ref name="erg-trade" />}}

Puerto Rican consumers ultimately bear the expense of transporting goods again across the Atlantic and Caribbean Sea on U.S.-flagged ships subject to the extremely high operating costs imposed by the Jones Act.{{efn|Gutierrez. "Because such restrictions boost shipping costs, American consumers pay the price."<ref name="erg-trade" />}} This also makes Puerto Rico less competitive with Caribbean ports as a shopping destination for tourists from home countries with much higher taxes (like mainland states) even though prices for non-American manufactured goods in theory should be cheaper since Puerto Rico is much closer to Central and South America, Western Europe, and Africa.

The [[government of Puerto Rico|local government of Puerto Rico]] has requested several times to the [[U.S. Congress]] to exclude Puerto Rico from the Jones Act restrictions without success.{{efn|Santiago (2021) "Local detractors of the Jones Act [...] for many years have unsuccessfully tried to have Puerto Rico excluded from the law's provisions[...]"<ref>{{cite news |title=Jones Act requirement comes under new light |first=Jaime |last=Santiago |newspaper=[[Caribbean Business]] |url=http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/prnt_ed/news02.php?nw_id=7877&ct_id=0 |date=November 29, 2012 |access-date=September 6, 2013 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308221156/http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/prnt_ed/news02.php?nw_id=7877&ct_id=0 |archive-date=2014-03-08 }}</ref>}} The most recent measure has been taken by the [[17th Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico]] through [http://www.oslpr.org/files/docs/{A8F2DF0C-A03D-40C7-A198-ED9C945F81C4}.doc R. Conc. del S. 21].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oslpr.org/files/docs/{A8F2DF0C-A03D-40C7-A198-ED9C945F81C4}.doc |title=R. Conc. del S. 21 |format=[[Microsoft Word]] |publisher=[[Puerto Rico Office of Legislative Services]] |date=May 6, 2013 |access-date=September 6, 2013 |language=es }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.noticel.com/noticia/141423/senado-aprueba-proyecto-para-pedir-trato-preferencial-en-leyes-de-cabotaje.html |title=Senado aprueba proyecto para pedir trato preferencial en leyes de cabotaje |newspaper=[[NotiCel]] |date=June 5, 2013 |access-date=September 6, 2013 |language=es }}</ref> These measures have always received support from all the [[Political party strength in Puerto Rico|major local political parties]]. In 2013 the [[Government Accountability Office]] published a report which concluded that "repealing or amending the Jones Act cabotage law might cut Puerto Rico shipping costs" and that "shippers believed that opening the trade to non-U.S.-flag competition could lower costs."{{efn|name=joc-gao-report-repeal-quote}}{{efn|name=joc-gao-report-lower-costs-quote}} The report, however, concluded that the effects of modifying the application of the Jones Act for Puerto Rico are highly uncertain for both Puerto Rico and the United States, particularly for the [[United States Merchant Marine|U.S. shipping industry]] and the military preparedness of the United States.<ref name="joc-gao-report" />

In February 2025, Governor Jennifer Gonzalez-Colón announced a request by the government of Puerto Rico for a permanent exemption from air cabotage laws in Puerto Rico.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.elnuevodia.com/negocios/economia/notas/puerto-rico-acelera-su-plan-para-convertirse-en-un-hub-de-carga-aerea/ |title=Puerto Rico buscará una exención permanente a las leyes de cabotaje aéreo |first=Efraín |last=Montalbán Ríos  |date=13 February 2025|access-date=13 February 2025|language=es |newspaper=[[El Nuevo Día]] }}</ref>