The American Exploration and Production Council sent a letter to the Congress, asking to temporarily allow the use of foreign vessels to transmit petroleum cargoes between US ports, on the contrary to the Jones Act.
Specifically, the letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell earlier this week, AXPC called for “market-based solutions” to reduce the impact of plummeting oil prices on America’s oil producers.
AXPC CEO Anne Bradbury highlighted that
We want to be clear: our industry is not seeking a bailout from the federal government … What we are seeking is a restoration of a functioning, stable, global market for oil, which removes artificial manipulation of the global marketplace.
The proposal includes postponing the sale of oil supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and temporarily waiving the Jones Act, with the letter commenting that a temporary waiver can enable American producers to move domestic products with greater ease within the U.S.
Following the American Maritime Partnership – the industry group representing Jones Act shipowners – replied to the letter, stating that
This is an opportunistic effort by those who want to use foreign ships to advance their own economic interests at the expense of American workers who are doing everything in their power to keep this economy moving.
The AMP added that amid the American crisis, foreign vessels with foreign crew will pose an additional threat to the safety and security of their nation’s health.
Therefore, AMP chairman and Crowley Maritime SVP Michael Roberts criticized the proposal of replacing American ships with foreign ones, in an open letter.
Specifically, in an open letter Roberts stated that “A waiver would allow foreign vessels and foreign crews to enter purely domestic commerce, a bad idea in any circumstance but certainly more so during the current coronavirus crisis.”
