May 21, 2021 By Jim Myers
Washington, D.C. Major supporters of the Jones Act want those seeking to benefit from a waiver of the 100-year-old maritime law to be held accountable by the government.
To ensure that accountability as well as transparency, American Waterways Operators (AWO) President and CEO Jennifer Carpenter urged the Biden administration and Congress to apply the relevant provisions of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.
American Maritime Partnership (AMP) President Mike Roberts “strenuously” encouraged such accountability to avoid undermining American jobs and consumers.
Roberts said the Jones Act should not be waived unless it was to respond to an urgent national security need that cannot be met reasonably with American ships.
May 14, 2021 By Jim Myers
Washington, D.C. The Biden administration announced a “temporary and targeted” waiver of the Jones Act in response to eastern seaboard oil supply constraints.
That announcement came as part of a week-long governmentwide response to a ransomware attack on a major fuel pipeline.
“In the interest of national defense, I have approved a temporary and targeted waiver request to an individual company,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.
“This waiver will help provide for the transport of oil products between the Gulf Coast and East Coast ports to ease oil supply constraints as a result of the interruptions in the operations of the Colonial Pipeline.”
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UPDATE: The Biden administration has issued a second waiver of U.S. shipping requirements as it seeks to get more fuel to the East Coast in the wake of the Colonial Pipeline shutdown that caused tanks and filling stations to run dry. The waiver, announced late Thursday night, gives an unnamed company a limited exemption. Homeland Security did not provide any details about the recipient of the new waiver or how long it would be valid.
By Jennifer A. Dlouhy (Bloomberg) –The Biden administration temporarily eased century-old U.S. shipping requirements so a foreign tanker could transport gasoline and jet fuel to the East Coast for Valero Energy to the East Coast, according to two people familiar with the matter.
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The U.S. Department of Homeland approved a second Jones Act waiver late Thursday in response to the Colonial Pipeline shutdown, which has now been reopened.
“Today, Secretary Mayorkas approved a temporary and targeted Jones Act waiver request for a second company,” the DHS said in a statement. “This decision was made after careful consideration and consultation with interagency partners across the federal government as part of the whole-of-government response President Biden directed to address the impacts of the Colonial Pipeline shut down.”
The waiver follows a first waiver issued Wednesday to an individual company also on a “temporary and targeted” basis, allowing a foreign-flagged tanker to transport gas and jet fuel from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the eastern seaboard. That company has now been tipped as Valero.
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We’re hearing from maritime unions and other stakeholders regarding the Jones Act waiver that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has issued to help alleviate fuel supply issues along the eastern seaboard in wake of the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline.
Speaking to the waiver, the DHS Secretary released a statement late Wednesday providing insight on his decision, describing the waiver as “temporary and targeted” to a single undisclosed individual company, Valero Energy.
The Jones Act is the 1920 law requiring that goods shipped between U.S. ports be transported on ships that are not only U.S.-flagged, but aslo built, owned, and operated by United States citizens or permanent residents. It serves as the backbone of the nation’s domestic maritime industry and merchant marine.