Jones Act group supports Bush’s temporary waiver for fuel transport

Jones Act group supports Bush’s temporary waiver for fuel transport    The Maritime Cabotage Task Force said it supports President Bush’s decision last week to allow foreign-flag tankers to temporarily operate in domestic waters to assist with transporting petroleum products in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf.
   The Bush administration said the waiver was necessary to help bring gasoline to East Coast ports while petroleum companies attempt to restore pipelines from New Orleans and other Gulf ports. The waiver also covers transportation of petroleum released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
   “The industry normally opposes coastwise waivers because of the robust capacity of the domestic fleet,” said Philip Grill, chairman of the Maritime Cabotage Task Force, in a statement. “In this case, though, we respect the president’s decision in light of the unusual and temporary circumstances caused by the downed pipelines and the dimensions of human tragedy.”
   The 1920 Merchant Marine Act, better known as the Jones Act, restricts domestic waterborne trades to U.S.-flag vessels. Waivers to the act are rarely granted. The current Jones Act waiver will last until 12:01 a.m. Sept. 19, according the Homeland Security Department.
   “Those pipelines are already coming back on line, and the industry is confident that it will have ample capacity to carry all future domestic cargoes, petroleum or otherwise,” Grill said.