'Sandy' Aftermath Sees Jones Act Waivers Agreed

U.S. Maritime Industry not opposing Jones Act waivers to ship petroleum to the Northeast US in fuel crisis.

Thee American Maritime Partnership writes to President Obama to confirm that the U.S. Maritime Industry will not oppose waivers that are necessary to facilitate the delivery of petroleum products into the regions affected by Hurricane Sandy. The content of their letter is as follows:

Dear Mr. President:

The domestic maritime industry stands by ready to help in any way as our nation responds to the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. Nothing is more important right now than the safety and security of our fellow Americans.

Today our industry is working around the clock responding to this emergency. There is nothing new about that. The emergency response to every national disaster near water involves the active participation of our nation's domestic maritime industry. To give just one of many examples, American vessels transported nearly 500,000 individuals away from lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001, a response that has been called "the greatest sea evacuation in history, larger than the evacuation of Dunkirk in World War II ..."

We are similarly committed to doing everything possible to assist the response to this disaster. Our industry is already actively facilitating the movement of petroleum and other products in the Northeast. A fleet of American vessels are standing by ready to assist as harbors and terminals reopen. We are not aware of any circumstances where American vessels have not been available to meet transportation needs.

However, in certain circumstances existing law permits the granting of Jones Act waivers when no American vessels are available. In those circumstances, we will not oppose waivers that are necessary to facilitate delivery of petroleum products into the regions affected by Hurricane Sandy. That has been our position in previous similar national emergencies, and that is our position today.

Thank you. We stand by ready to help in any way.

Sincerely,

The American Maritime Partnership

cc: Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
Energy Secretary Steven Chu
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano