Any ship using US deckhands will need US command crew (Jones Act). Immigration might open up deckhand positions, but not master positions until they naturalize.
Yes. I don’t expect fixes to immigration to resolve constraints with Jones Act. I do expect it would make other large parts of the labor market more flexible and relieve pressure on positions constrained by Jones Act.
As someone in the industry, what changes would you make to the Jones Act to better enable you to fill the roles you’re having a challenge filling while still meeting the merchant marine industry capacity national security concerns the Jones Act attempts to solve for? I would pay to read this as a blog post btw. Policy must evolve to meet the needs of society.
Edit: no rush! I understand time is at a premium and in short supply.
I will try to articulate a coherent answer for this. It will probably take me a while. I appreciate your interest.