![StateLibQld 1 169487 United States (ship) (colorized)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/StateLibQld_1_169487_United_States_%28ship%29_%28colorized%29.jpg)
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
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 ...
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 ...
of
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 DatabaseMurals on the High Seas - Artwork on American Built Passenger LinersMoore-McCormack Lines HistorySS 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
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 ...
Ocean liners, 20th century