Sponsor
Mike Lee
Senator · R-UT
Official title: Adjust certain ownership and other requirements for passenger vessels, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 30, 2025 by Mike Lee · Last progress July 30, 2025
The bill increases competition, route options, and potential consumer savings by allowing foreign-built/flag passenger vessels to serve U.S. routes while preserving default U.S. legal protections — but it risks weakening U.S. maritime jobs, shipbuilding demand, and national surge capacity and raises oversight concerns.
Passengers and consumers gain more domestic ferry/cruise options and likely lower fares as foreign-built or foreign-flag passenger vessels can operate U.S. coastal routes, increasing competition and route availability.
U.S. passengers on voyages that touch foreign ports remain protected by U.S. safety, labor, and consumer laws (unless an explicit exemption is made), and the bill preserves consistent enforcement of coastwise and passenger protections.
By defaulting to existing U.S. legal requirements for voyages, the bill reduces regulatory uncertainty for operators and regulators, providing clearer compliance expectations.
National security and surge sealift/emergency capacity could be weakened if more passenger vessels are foreign-built or foreign-crewed and thus less available for defense or emergency support.
U.S. seafaring jobs and wages could decline because foreign-crewed vessels may operate domestic passenger routes without U.S. citizenship or Navy Reserve service requirements.
Domestic shipbuilding and related construction-sector jobs could lose demand if passenger vessels are no longer required to be U.S.-built, harming local suppliers and shipyards.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Removes coastwise passenger-only restrictions and related documentation/citizenship requirements so passenger vessels can operate between U.S. ports with greater routing flexibility.
Senator · R-UT
Removes the coastwise (Jones Act/PVSA) restrictions that currently limit passenger-carrying vessels operating between U.S. ports. The change repeals the Passenger Vessel Services Act requirement and adjusts related statutes so vessels that carry passengers between U.S. ports (including when routed via a foreign port) are no longer subject to the coastwise passenger-only rules and certain citizenship/documentation requirements. The bill preserves that all other U.S. laws still apply to those vessels unless an exemption is explicitly stated.