When Is A Vessel Built In America "U.S. Built"

The United States reserves its domestic maritime trade to vessels "built in the United States" under a set of laws popularly referred to as the "Jones Act." What qualifies as "U.S. built" under the law and U.S. Coast Guard interpretations was recently tested in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit case of Diamond Services Corp. v. Curtin Maritime Corp.

Coast Guard regulations provide a two-part test to determine whether a vessel constructed in the United States meets the "U.S. built" test. First, "all major components" of the vessel's "hull or superstructure" must be "fabricated in the United States." Second, the vessel must be "assembled entirely in the United States." The Coast Guard defines a "major component" as a "new, separate and completely-constructed unit" weighing more than 1.5 percent of the vessel's steelweight. The Coast Guard has referred to excluded items not being part of the hull or superstructure as "outfitting."