Senator Mike Lee’s Safeguarding American Tourism Act would shield large cruise ships—defined as 800 or more passenger berths—from certain requirements under the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) and the Jones Act for voyages within the United States. The bill also makes targeted adjustments to how alien crewmembers land temporarily in the United States and clarifies that existing U.S. laws still apply beyond the explicitly amended provisions.
The goal, on paper, is to ease operations for large cruise lines and preserve tourism activity, while maintaining a legal framework elsewhere.
At a Glance
What It Does
Adds a new nonapplicability rule for PVSA to vessels with 800+ passenger berths. Extends nonapplicability to certain Jones Act constraints for those vessels on domestic passenger transport between U.S. ports. Alters immigration language to adjust crew landing permits and simplifies temporary landings for alien crew members. Includes a rule-of-construction stating that other federal laws remain in effect unless explicitly changed.
Who It Affects
Cruise lines operating ships with 800+ berths and their routes between U.S. ports; U.S. ports and port authorities involved in coastwise traffic; immigration and visa processing agencies handling crew landings; and ancillary businesses supporting large-cruise operations.
Why It Matters
If enacted, the measure could reshape who can operate certain domestic itineraries and change the regulatory burden on large cruise vessels, with downstream effects on tourism economies, maritime labor, and compliance practices. It also raises questions about how temporarily landing crews will be regulated under immigration laws.
More articles like this one.
A weekly email with all the latest developments on this topic.
What This Bill Actually Does
The Safeguarding American Tourism Act proposes a targeted exemption for very large cruise ships—those with 800 or more passenger berths—from certain U.S. laws that usually govern passenger vessels operating domestically. Specifically, the bill adds a new nonapplicability clause to PVSA Section 55103, meaning PVSA would not apply to these large ships on certain routes between U.S. ports.
In parallel, it amends the Jones Act framework by adding a similar nonapplicability for vessels with 800+ berths that transport passengers between U.S. locations to which coastwise laws apply, with the ship carrying the passengers directly or via a foreign port. This creates a legal pathway for large cruise lines to operate domestic itineraries with fewer constraints tied to the traditional U.S. coastwise framework.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill creates a new PVSA nonapplicability for vessels with 800+ passenger berths.
It also extends a Jones Act nonapplicability to such vessels on domestic passenger routes between U.S. ports.
The act amends citizenship and navy reserve provisions to reflect the 800+ berth exemption for applicable vessels.
Section 3 modifies landing-permit rules for alien crewmembers, aligning discretion and visa-based timelines with the new framework.
Section 4 provides a rule of construction to ensure other U.S. laws still apply, except as explicitly amended.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
Every bill we cover gets an analysis of its key sections.
PVSA nonapplicability for 800+ berth vessels
The bill adds a new subsection to PVSA Section 55103 stating that the PVSA shall not apply to vessels with 800 or more passenger berths. This removal of PVSA coverage directly affects how these ships can operate on domestic routes, potentially altering licensing, safety, and regulatory oversight expectations that PVSA currently imposes on smaller passenger vessels.
Jones Act nonapplicability for 800+ berth vessels
The bill adds a new subsection to Section 12103 indicating that the requirements of this section shall not apply to any vessel with 800 or more passenger berths that transports passengers between U.S. ports where coastwise laws apply, whether directly or via a foreign port. This creates a carve-out that eases compliance for those large ships operating domestic itineraries, altering the standard regime for U.S.-flag, coastwise trade on these routes.
Jones Act amendments to related sections
The bill adjusts related paragraphs in Section 12112(a) to accommodate the 800+ berth vessels’ operations, including clarifying where the nonapplicability applies and how it interacts with existing subparagraphs. The practical effect is to reduce friction for large ships under the Jones Act framework on domestic routes, while preserving the broader structure of the statute.
Citizenship and Navy Reserve adjustments
The bill adds a new nonappliability to Section 8103(k) so that subsections (a) and (b) do not apply to any vessel with 800+ passenger berths that transports passengers on U.S. routes subject to coastwise laws. This aligns citizenship and reserve requirements with the broader exemption for large berths on applicable voyages.
Permits for alien crewm en to land temporarily
Section 252(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act is amended to shift discretionary language toward a more structured visa-based approach and to specify landing options for crew. The amendments allow crew to land either on the vessel on which they arrived or on a different vessel, under updated conditions, ensuring a clearer path for temporary landings consistent with the new statutory framework.
Rule of construction
The act contains a clarifying clause that nothing in the amendments should be construed to exempt a vessel transporting passengers between U.S. ports from any applicable U.S. law except as explicitly provided. This preservation clause aims to prevent a blanket relaxation of unrelated statutes and maintains overall regulatory safeguards.
This bill is one of many.
Codify tracks hundreds of bills on Transportation across all five countries.
Explore Transportation in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Global cruise operators that own or operate 800+ berth ships, enabling potentially easier domestic itineraries with fewer PVSA/Jones Act constraints.
- Major port authorities in cruise-intensive markets (e.g., Southeast and Gulf Coast hubs) that benefit from sustained tourism and passenger flows.
- Local tourism-dependent businesses (hotels, restaurants, retailers) that gain from higher cruise passenger volumes.
- Travel and hospitality supply chains that service large ships, including port services and onshore tourism vendors.
Who Bears the Cost
- Smaller U.S.-flag passenger vessel operators whose fleets do not reach 800 berths and may face less favorable competitive conditions.
- Domestic maritime workers and unions that rely on the existing regulatory regime and the predictable framework it provides for coastwise operations.
- Immigration and border agencies that may need to adjust processing and oversight to accommodate the revised crew landing provisions.
- Regulators and safety compliance programs that must adapt to a broader subset of vessels operating under modified requirements.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central tension is between enabling larger cruise ships to operate with fewer regulatory constraints on domestic routes to promote tourism, and preserving the coastwise protections and regulatory safeguards embedded in PVSA, the Jones Act, and immigration controls. Relaxing the rules for 800+ berth vessels may reduce compliance complexity for operators but could unintentionally undermine established protections for U.S.-flag shipping, domestic labor standards, and border security.
The bill’s exemptions for 800+ berth vessels raise questions about consistency with the PVSA’s intent to protect U.S.-flag shipping and domestic coastwise trade. While the amendment targets relatively large ships, it creates a potential gap between policy aims and safety, security, and labor standards enforced on smaller vessels that remain subject to PVSA/Jones Act rules.
Counting passenger berths and determining which ships qualify could become a point of administrative friction, and alignment between immigration-visa processes and the new crew-landing rules will need careful implementation and interagency coordination. The provision that “nothing in the amendments” should be construed to exempt vessels from other laws unless explicitly provided also invites scrutiny of how other federal requirements apply in practice to these ships.
Try it yourself.
Ask a question in plain English, or pick a topic below. Results in seconds.