The US maritime's Jones Act of 1920 compromises the safety of US ships as an "unintended consequence", according to an economics professor at North Carolina State University.

Thomas Grennes, emeritus professor of economics, made his case in a five-page thesis published by George Mason University's Mercatus Center focused on market research.

Grennes, having penned several papers critical of the act, opened his argument by pointing to the 2015 sinking of Jones Act-eligible cargo ship El Faro at the hands of Hurricane Joaquin.