Fred McCallister, an investment banker with Allegiance Capital Corporation, sent a letter to Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen on June 17 asking for a limited waiver of the Jones Act, to enable 12 to 25 foreign flagged skimmer ships to assist in clean-up efforts in the Gulf.
"Many in the Gulf have been calling for this equipment, which can collect 3,500 gallons of oil per hour per vessel from Gulf waters. With estimates now at 2.5 million gallons of oil spilling into the Gulf every day, the urgency can't be overstated," said McCallister, a Vice President at Allegiance Capital.
The Jones Act has been waived as part of disaster response in the past, including a waiver to assist in response to Hurricane Katrina. More recently it has been waived to support renewable energy development efforts off of the coast of Delaware. Several Gulf state leaders have asked for a general waiver of the Jones Act this week.