ABSTRACT
A protectionist maritime cabotage approach often departs radically from the basic principles of reserving coastal trade for indigenous registered vessels. It covers a wide scope of maritime activities and imposes onerous requirements on maritime operators looking to engage in maritime cabotage trade and services. The protectionist maritime cabotage law in the United States is one of the relics of British colonisation. It is an inheritance from when the United States was a British colony. The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 is the applicable law regulating maritime cabotage in the United States. There are several controversies surrounding the maritime Cabotage Act since it came into force in 2004. Many of these have ended up in court where the Cabotage Act has been tested and found to be lacking the necessary robustness to combat the challenges for which it was enacted. Canada has maintained a stringent protectionist maritime cabotage law and policy dating back to before the confederation in 1867.
