List of passenger ships built in the United States

SS United States, the largest passenger ship built in the U.S.

As a result of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, only ships built and registered in the United States are permitted to sail solely between ports in the United States.[1][2] The Merchant Marine Act of 1928 would continue to incentivize and spur the construction of U.S. built ships through government loans, which would lead the International Mercantile Marine Company and along with other U.S. run shipping lines to order new ships up through World War II.[2]

The largest passenger liner built in the United States to date is the SS United States, completed in 1952.[3] The last large passenger liner to be completed in the United States was Moore-McCormack Lines' SS Argentina in 1958.[4]

The only US-built deep water passenger ships still in existence today are the SS United States (laid up), former converted cargo liner SS Medina (hotel ship), cargo/passenger liner NS Savannah (museum ship), and the partly US-built Pride of America (still in service). Today, only small coastal and river passenger ships are still built in the U.S. and fly the American flag.

  1. ^ "Domestic Shipping | MARAD". maritime.dot.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Braynard, Frank O. The Big Ship The Story of the S.S. United States. Nashville. ISBN 978-1-59652-990-8. OCLC 1191044096.
  4. ^ "Ingalls News - February 7, 1958". www.moore-mccormack.com. Retrieved 2020-12-31.