Port-hurricane Jones Act waiver extended

The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday extended a rare one-week waiver of Jones Act rules in an effort to help deliver petroleum products to hurricane-impacted areas along the Gulf and East coasts for a second week.    The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday extended a rare one-week waiver of Jones Act rules in an effort to help to deliver petroleum products to hurricane-impacted areas along the Gulf and East coasts for a second week.
   The waiver, which was issued on Sept. 8, will now apply to covered merchandise laded on board a vessel through Sept. 22.
   “Due to the severe disruptions of the oil supply system resulting from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the extended waiver will facilitate movement of refined petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, to be shipped from New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico,” DHS said in a statement.
   The initial waiver was requested by both the Defense and Energy departments.
   The Jones Act requires that domestic cargo moving between U.S. ports be moved on U.S.-flag vessels. The last time that a waiver of the Jones Act was issued by the federal government occurred in December 2012 to assist with the emergency delivery of petroleum products in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.