Cargo between Jacksonville and San Juan is domestic trade, so it moves under the U.S. coastwise laws, usually called the Jones Act, rather than under the rules for foreign trade. That changes who can carry the freight, but it does not remove every filing: U.S. export rules still require Electronic Export Information for many shipments to Puerto Rico.
For small carriers, NVOCCs and forwarders in Florida, Puerto Rico is one of the most familiar lanes on the map. It is also one of the most misunderstood, because it looks like an export but is legally a domestic move. Much of that traffic runs through the Jacksonville Port Authority, JAXPORT, in northeast Florida.
In a February 2025 article on its own cargo blog, JAXPORT states that it handles nearly 90 percent of all sea trade between the island and the U.S. mainland and offers reliable weekly sailings. The same article describes three domestic ocean carriers in Jacksonville serving Puerto Rico, moving household goods, vehicles, consumer products and, after Hurricane Maria, relief supplies and power poles for the island's grid. That is the port's own description, not an independent audit, but it explains why so many Florida companies route island cargo north to Jacksonville even when their office sits in Miami.
For a small operator the practical consequence is simple: if you sell Puerto Rico service, you will very likely be booking space with one of the Jacksonville-based domestic carriers, delivering or picking up cargo at their terminals, and managing a lane whose rules differ from your Caribbean and Latin American business.
The law most people call the Jones Act is codified today as the coastwise trade provisions of Title 46 of the U.S. Code. The core rule is in 46 U.S.C. 55102(b). In plain terms, except as otherwise provided, a vessel may not provide any part of the transportation of merchandise by water, or by land and water, between points in the United States to which the coastwise laws apply, either directly or via a foreign port, unless the vessel meets two conditions:
The coastwise endorsement carries its own eligibility tests. Under 46 U.S.C. 12112, a coastwise endorsement may be issued for a vessel that, among other conditions, was built in the United States, with narrow exceptions such as certain wrecked or forfeited vessels. Crewing and other requirements sit in other parts of Title 46. That is why Jones Act shipping is usually summarized as U.S.-built, U.S.-owned and U.S.-documented.
Notice the phrase "either directly or via a foreign port." Routing cargo through a foreign transshipment hub does not turn a Jacksonville-to-San Juan move into an international one. If the origin and the destination are both U.S. points covered by the coastwise laws, the restriction applies to the move.
The geography is set by 46 U.S.C. 55101. The coastwise laws apply to the United States, including the island territories and possessions, with listed exceptions. This table summarizes what the statute says for the territories most relevant to Florida operators:
| Destination from Florida | Coastwise laws apply? | What the statute says |
|---|---|---|
| Puerto Rico | Yes | Covered as part of the United States, including island territories and possessions (55101(a)). |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | Not currently | Excluded until the President declares by proclamation that the coastwise laws apply (55101(b)). |
| American Samoa | No | Listed as an exception in 55101(b). |
| Northern Mariana Islands | No, with exceptions | Excluded except as provided in section 502(b) of the Covenant (55101(b)). |
| Foreign Caribbean ports | No | International (foreign) trade, not coastwise trade. |
This is why a Florida NVOCC can quote St. Thomas and San Juan side by side and find that the carrier options are not the same. It is also why the Puerto Rico lane is dominated by a small group of domestic carriers, while the U.S. Virgin Islands can be served by a wider range of vessels.
A common mistake is to assume that because Puerto Rico is domestic for the Jones Act, it is domestic for everything. U.S. export statistics rules say otherwise. 15 CFR 30.2, the Foreign Trade Regulations, lists the shipments for which Electronic Export Information (EEI) must be filed in the Automated Export System. Among them are shipments to Puerto Rico from the United States, to the United States from Puerto Rico, and to the U.S. Virgin Islands from the United States or Puerto Rico.
The same regulation has exemptions, and the best known is the low-value exemption in 15 CFR 30.37, which applies per Schedule B or HTS classification when the value is $2,500 or less from one USPPI to one consignee on one conveyance, unless a license or other condition requires filing. Who files, and whether a given shipment is exempt, is a question for the exporter and its forwarder or customs broker. For the carrier, the practical point is that the ITN or exemption citation should be in the shipment record before the cargo sails, exactly as it would be on a foreign export.
Most small Florida operators do not own Jones Act tonnage. They participate in the Puerto Rico trade as shippers of record, as consolidators buying space from the domestic carriers, or as agents and truckers handling cargo to and from the Jacksonville terminals. That means the operational work looks familiar: bookings, dock receipts, container stuffing, bills of lading, invoicing and tracking.
What changes is the regulatory overlay. Your foreign-trade lanes involve U.S. Customs manifest filing through ACE and FMC tariff rules for NVOCCs, while the domestic lane runs under different rules. Whether, and how, a particular service you offer to Puerto Rico is regulated is a legal question; check it with a maritime attorney rather than assuming your FMC license covers or excludes it.
The hardest part of mixing Puerto Rico with Caribbean and Latin American business is not the law itself; it is keeping two rule sets straight in daily work. When a documentation clerk handles San Juan in the morning and Santo Domingo in the afternoon, the software should know which shipments need an ACE manifest, which need EEI, and which need both.
A system such as GDZ-ISIS keeps bookings, bills of lading, equipment and accounting in one place, with ACE manifest filing for the foreign moves, so the same record feeds every document instead of being retyped. GDZ-ISIS is built in Miami-Dade for operators across Florida, including those working out of JAXPORT, which you can read about on our Florida shipping line software page.
For a broader look at how the Puerto Rico lane compares with the rest of the state's routes, see our guide to Florida's main trade lanes for small ocean carriers.
For the coastwise laws it is domestic: 46 U.S.C. 55101 applies those laws to the United States including its island territories and possessions, which covers Puerto Rico. That is why the Jones Act vessel requirements apply. Other rules, such as EEI filing under 15 CFR 30.2, still treat the move as a reportable shipment.
Not currently. 46 U.S.C. 55101(b) excludes the Virgin Islands until the President declares by proclamation that the coastwise laws apply there. Check the current status before quoting, because a proclamation would change it.
Often yes. 15 CFR 30.2 lists shipments to Puerto Rico from the United States among those requiring EEI in AES, subject to exemptions such as the $2,500-per-classification rule in 15 CFR 30.37. Confirm each shipment with your forwarder or customs broker.
No. 46 U.S.C. 55102(b) covers transportation between U.S. points "either directly or via a foreign port," so routing through a foreign hub does not take the move outside the rule. Ask a maritime attorney about any specific routing.
JAXPORT reports that it handles nearly 90 percent of sea trade between Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland, served by domestic carriers based in Jacksonville with weekly sailings. Concentrated Jones Act capacity and established services keep the lane there.