Posted:
May 17, 2013
The following letter to the editor by American Maritime Officers National President Tom Bethel was sent to the London-based Lloyd's List. On May 13, Lloyd's List published an article by Hal Brown, in which it was erroneously reported that "the Jones Act would have to change" if the U.S. government were to allow U.S. exports of most types of crude oil. The article quoted Guy Caruso - senior adviser, energy and national security program - of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
It would be helpful if people like the gentleman quoted under the headline 'Washington faces growing pressure to export US crude' read - and understood the application of - the Jones Act before they opened their mouths. There is absolutely nothing in the Jones Act that would stop the shipping of crude oil from the U.S. on foreign vessels.
The Jones Act is a law that regulates U.S. domestic maritime commerce. The Jones Act is found in Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. The act requires that cargoes transported by water between U.S. ports be carried by U.S.-built ships that are owned by U.S. citizens, crewed by U.S. citizens, and are registered in the United States.
What foreign-flag operators are advocating is the opening of U.S. coastal trades so they can also move crude oil between U.S. ports, which would be a violation of the Jones Act.
And who can blame them? After all, foreign-flag vessels only carry 98% of the cargo in and out of ports in the United States. And the Obama administration has granted more waivers to the Jones Act than any other administration, proposed a budget that would wipe out the PL-480 Food for Peace program, and stood idly by after the Gulf spill and allowed the Jones Act to be falsely blamed for holding up the cleanup even though the spill occurred in international waters. Under the Obama administration, every major U.S. maritime program has either been eliminated, gutted or underfunded.
Let's set the record straight once and for all: the elimination of the Jones Act would not cure cancer, curb illegal drug use or even lower gasoline prices. What it would do is eliminate U.S. jobs and weaken America's national security. There was a time when the President and the Congress thought these things were worth fighting for.
Tom Bethel
National President
American Maritime Officers
The definition of the Jones Act
The following letter to the editor by American Maritime Officers National President Tom Bethel was sent to the London-based Lloyd's List. On May 13, Lloyd's List published an article by Hal Brown, in which it was erroneously reported that "the Jones Act would have to change" if the U.S. government were to allow U.S. exports of most types of crude oil. The article quoted Guy Caruso - senior adviser, energy and national security program - of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
It would be helpful if people like the gentleman quoted under the headline 'Washington faces growing pressure to export US crude' read - and understood the application of - the Jones Act before they opened their mouths. There is absolutely nothing in the Jones Act that would stop the shipping of crude oil from the U.S. on foreign vessels.
The Jones Act is a law that regulates U.S. domestic maritime commerce. The Jones Act is found in Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. The act requires that cargoes transported by water between U.S. ports be carried by U.S.-built ships that are owned by U.S. citizens, crewed by U.S. citizens, and are registered in the United States.
What foreign-flag operators are advocating is the opening of U.S. coastal trades so they can also move crude oil between U.S. ports, which would be a violation of the Jones Act.
And who can blame them? After all, foreign-flag vessels only carry 98% of the cargo in and out of ports in the United States. And the Obama administration has granted more waivers to the Jones Act than any other administration, proposed a budget that would wipe out the PL-480 Food for Peace program, and stood idly by after the Gulf spill and allowed the Jones Act to be falsely blamed for holding up the cleanup even though the spill occurred in international waters. Under the Obama administration, every major U.S. maritime program has either been eliminated, gutted or underfunded.
Let's set the record straight once and for all: the elimination of the Jones Act would not cure cancer, curb illegal drug use or even lower gasoline prices. What it would do is eliminate U.S. jobs and weaken America's national security. There was a time when the President and the Congress thought these things were worth fighting for.
Tom Bethel
National President
American Maritime Officers