A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has dismissed a constitutional challenge to the Jones Act brought by Kōloa Rum Company, ruling that the 1920 cabotage law remains valid and that the distiller’s claims were either time-barred or failed on merits.

When it comes to the operation of commercial vessels, attention tends to focus on the bridge. Many decks below, machinery spaces are often “out of sight and out of mind” — unless something goes wrong.