The world shipping community is calling upon President Obama to temporarily waive The Jones Act, thereby permitting foreign flag vessels to assist with the massive oil clean up effort continuing in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Jones Act —a legal vestige of American protectionism mandating that all goods transported between U.S. ports to be built, owned, and operated by U.S. vessels – has been waived in the recent past when Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf.
While pending legislation only waives the Jones Act for vessels responding to BP’s oil spill emergency, some maritime legal experts are suggesting that The Act be reevaluated in an era of long removed American dominance of commercial shipping.