StateLibQld 1 169487 United States (ship) (colorized)

As a result of the

Merchant Marine Act of 1920 The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 is a United States federal statute that provides for the promotion and maintenance of the American merchant marine. Among other purposes, the law regulates maritime commerce in U.S. waters and between U.S. ports. ...

, only ships built and registered in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

are permitted to sail solely between ports in the United States. The

Merchant Marine Act of 1928 The Merchant Marine Act of 1928 (also called the "Jones-White Act") is a United States law to stimulate private shipbuilding in the United States and to assist the merchant marine financially in being competitive in the emerging global market. It ...

would continue to incentivize and spur the construction of U.S. built ships through government loans, which would lead the

International Mercantile Marine Company The International Mercantile Marine Company, originally the International Navigation Company, was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. IMM was founded by shipping magnates ...

and along with other U.S. run shipping lines to order new ships through up through World War II. The largest passenger liner built in the United States to date is the SS ''United States'', completed in 1952. The last large passenger liner to be completed in the

was Moore-McCormack Lines' SS ''Argentina'' in 1958. The only US-built deep water passenger ships still in existence today are the SS ''United States'' (laid up), former converted cargo liner ''SS Medina'' (hotel ship), cargo/passenger liner NS ''Savannah'' (museum ship), and the partially US-built ''

Pride of America MS ''Pride of America'' is a cruise ship operated by NCL America, a division of Norwegian Cruise Lines, to sail itineraries in the Hawaiian Islands. Construction of the ship began in 2000 in the United States as part of a plan for a US-built a ...

'' (still in service). Today, only small coastal and river passenger ships are still built in the U.S. and fly the American flag.

Shipyards

The primary yards that were building passenger ships in the 20th century include: * Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., Ltd.,

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

* Ingalls Shipyards,

Pascagoula, Mississippi Pascagoula ( ) is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula Combined Statistical Area. The population was 22 ...

Fore River Shipyard Fore River Shipyard was a shipyard owned by General Dynamics Corporation located on Weymouth Fore River in Braintree and Quincy, Massachusetts. It began operations in 1883 in Braintree, and moved to its final location on Quincy Point in 1901 ...

Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co ...

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company (also known as William Cramp & Sons Ship & Engine Building Company) of Philadelphia was founded in 1830 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder of the late 19th century. Company hi ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

New York Shipbuilding The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short) was an American shipbuilding company that operated from 1899 to 1968, ultimately completing more than 500 vessels for the U.S. Navy, the United States Merchant Marine, the United ...

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a city in and the county seat of Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Camden is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan area and is located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the 2020 ...

Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company The Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Company was a United States shipyard, active from 1917 to 1948. It was founded during World War I to build ships for the United States Shipping Board. During World War II, it built ships as part of the U.S. Gov ...

Kearny, NJ Kearny ( ) is a Town (New Jersey), town in the West Hudson, New Jersey, western part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Newark, New Jersey, Newark. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town ...

List

References

External links

U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) Vessel History Database

Murals on the High Seas - Artwork on American Built Passenger Liners

Moore-McCormack Lines History

SS United States Conservancy

Bibliography

*{{cite book , last=Harnack , first=Edwin P , orig-year=1903 , year=1938 , title=All About Ships & Shipping , edition=7th , location=London , publisher=

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, usually abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, Margaret Storey, William Golding, Samuel B ...

, page=549

Ocean liners, 20th century