UPDATE 3-U.S. waives Jones Act to help get fuel to Northeast

Reuters ^ | November 2, 2012 | By Timothy Gardner and Ayesha Rascoe

[Oldeconomybuyer]

The U.S. government issued a rare waiver on Friday allowing foreign tankers in the Gulf of Mexico to supply the Northeast with fuel after Hurricane Sandy, but the extent of relief was uncertain since some ports in the region still lacked power.

The Department of Homeland Security's waiver of the Jones Act allows foreign-flagged vessels to begin shipping petroleum products, such as gasoline and diesel, from the Gulf of Mexico to Northeastern ports effective immediately. The shipments must leave the Gulf region by Nov. 13 and arrive in the Northeast by a week after.

With power still out at many ports and gasoline stations it was unclear how much fuel was needed immediately and how quickly it could get to customers.

DHS said it had received only one request from a company to waive the law. It did not identify the company.

The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, better known as the Jones Act, was created to support jobs in the maritime industry. It requires goods moved between U.S. ports to be carried by ships built domestically and staffed by U.S. crews.

[1rudeboy]

LOL—if we have to waive the Jones Act every time there’s a crisis, don’t you think we should reexamine the Jones Act?

[Fedupwithit]

OK, if you are a terrorist group with the means to get a hold of a ship, doesn’t this seem like a ‘welcome mat’ to cause some serious destruction in downtown NYC??

[Free America52]

As Rush said today, all this does is get the government out of the way so things will work more smoothly. This is a “get the government out of the way” case study playing out right before our eyes. And is indicative of everything that is wrong about big government ...

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

Why can’t Biden deliver the full load?

[Who is John Galt?]

...don’t you think we should reexamine the Jones Act?

The Jones Act is just another union-@ss-kissing law that hurts the American economy and promotes foreign (rather than inter-State) trade - it should have been repealed long ago, but will probably be here forever, just like the idiotic mohair subsidies...

[Timber Rattler]

The Jones Act is reminiscent of the old British Navigation Acts before the Revolutionary War.

[darkwing104]

Did they ask the Unions for their permission?

[VRWC For Truth]

the Jones Act, was created to support jobs in the maritime industry

Very likely it actually eliminates jobs. Tip of the iceberg of how DC intervention in economic activity does not work.

[Alberta's Child]

All good points. Waiving the Jones Act is the equivalent of temporarily letting non-union workers do utility repairs in the region affected by Hurrican Sandy.

[OldGMA]

HUH? Last time I looked there were all kinds of refineries right there in NJ with big storage tanks.

[Alberta's Child]

I'm not so sure that it "eliminates" jobs. More likely it distorts the labor market for different kinds of jobs.

I'm sure the U.S. railroad and trucking industries are among the biggest supporters of the Jones Act, for example.

[Alberta's Child]

The biggest refinery in northern New Jersey is the Bayway Refinery in Linden. My understanding is that they haven't had power there in several days, and the storm has disrupted the operation of a major pipeline that brings oil from the Gulf Coast up to this area as well.

This is why the fuel situation in southern New Jersey is somewhat better than in the north. That area gets its fuel from the Philadelphia area, which was also affected by the storm but not to the same extent as the NYC region because the storm was weakened after crossing over the mainland of New Jersey.

[fishtank]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_Marine_Act_of_1920

[Strategerist]

Foreign vessels enter NY Harbor all the time already.

All this does is allow foreign vessels to carry cargo from somewhere else in the US to NY Harbor; the Jones Act normally prevents this - all shipping from a US port to another US port has to be in a US Flag (and US constructed) vessel.

[Kandy Atz]

Didn’t Obama refuse to waive the Jones Act during the BP spill when foreign ships offered assistance with the clean up?

[JoeFromSidney]

Some years ago I took a cruise to Alaska. Now the logical place to begin an Alaskan cruise is Seattle. However, the cruise ship was a Dutch liner. Because of the Jones Act, the line can't take passengers from Settle to Alaska. So it leaves from Vancouver, just across the Canadian border. All the shore activities associated with the cruise, such as refueling and re-supplying the ship, take place in Vancouver. If tourists arrive early, they spend money in Vancouver. In short, a lot of money that would logically be spent in Seattle is instead spent in Vancouver. All in the name of preserving jobs aboard ship for American sailors.

The Jones Act doesn't preserve American maritime jobs, or American shipbuilding jobs. Instead it enriches Canadians.

[Alberta's Child]

I may be wrong about this, but I think the only impact the Jones Act has on the trip you described is that a foreign-flagged vessel that travels between Seattle and Alaska must first make a stop in Vancouver so that it's considered an international voyage rather than a domestic one.

Maybe that cruise line was simply running ships directly from Vancouver to Alaska because it had better berthing arrangements in Vancouver?

[Toddsterpatriot]

Stop making sense, globalist!

[GeronL]

SO we need big government in times of emergency to remove big government in order to start the recovery.

got it. NY Times won’t admit it. lol