The Jones Act and Its Relevance to the Arctic

The waiver of the Jones Act which allows Finland to construct four Arctic Security Cutters for the U.S. Coast Guard represents a significant point at which Arctic geopolitics, fishing rights, and maritime policy intersect. This crucial decision highlights the challenges arising from longstanding protective laws and the conditions presented by the rapid changes to the Arctic Ocean.

As Arctic sea ice recedes to record lows each year, previously inaccessible areas are opening to human economic activity which include commercial fishing in waters once covered by permanent ice. The Arctic region also contains approximately 13 percent of the world’s oil, about a third of the world’s natural gas, and rare earth minerals on the sea floor. Warming waters, shifting fish migration patterns, and longer ice free seasons are driving commercial fishery growth in areas like the U.S. Arctic Exclusive Economic Zone, as fish ranges expand into the newly exposed central Arctic Ocean.

The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, commonly known as the Jones Act, requires that ships operating between U.S. ports must be American built, flagged, and crewed. Originally devised to bolster the Merchant Marine fleet after the First World War, the Jones Act has become the support system for domestic commercial shipbuilding. However, this measure has created some obstacles for Arctic operations.

The U.S. Coast Guard needs three heavy and three medium polar icebreakers to accomplish all its Arctic and Antarctic missions. Today, the U.S. Coast Guard fleet has one medium polar icebreaker, the USCGC HEALY, and one heavy polar icebreaker, the USCGC POLAR STAR. The USCGC POLAR STAR is nearly 50 years old. The Jones Act’s requirements would have significantly delayed acquiring the specialized vessels needed to patrol these newly accessible waters.

The waiver for Finnish construction addresses issues concerning national security and Arctic sovereignty, instead of focusing on protectionist policies. Finland has significant experience in icebreaker construction, which will provide opportunities for the United States to develop its Arctic capabilities as Russia and China increase their activities in the region.

The relationship between ice melt and fishing rights has led to international collaboration. Nine countries including the U.S., Canada, Russia, Norway, Greenland/Denmark, China, Japan, Iceland, South Korea, as well as the European Union, have agreed to a treaty postponing commercial fishing in the central Arctic Ocean for 16 years to enable scientific research on its effects on wildlife. As a result, 1.1 million square miles of ocean (an area larger than the Mediterranean Sea) has been designated for this purpose.

For American fishermen, particularly those operating in Alaska, the changing Arctic presents both challenges and opportunities. Commercial operators recognize these are new and emerging fishing grounds. However, they acknowledge that unregulated or insufficiently regulated commercial fisheries within the Arctic EEZ could negatively impact the region’s sensitive ecosystem.

The Jones Act waiver for icebreaker construction is more than just a purchasing decision. As polar ice continues to recede, it signals recognition that Arctic policy must balance national security, environmental protection, economic development, and international cooperation.

For fishermen, the expanded icebreaker fleet will provide essential safety and enforcement capabilities in increasingly active Arctic waters. These vessels will help ensure that as commercial fishing expands northward, it does so under careful management rather than in an unregulated “gold rush” that could devastate fragile Arctic ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.