Jones Act Tanker Crew Saves Sailors, Cats Stranded at Sea
What should have been a warm Welcome Home turned into a rescue mission after the occupants of a sinking sailboat needed the life-saving aide of American Maritime Officers members off the coast of Oregon earlier this month. On September 2, AMO Captain Ben Hopkins and his crew on the Crowley-managed tanker Florida saved three men […]
The Jones Act: An America First Law, Waived for China’s Benefit
The 2026 Jones Act waiver has not been shown to meet its legal test, opened America’s coastwise trade to Chinese- and Russian-linked ships, and produced no demonstrated national fuel-price relief. It should expire on August 16. KEY FINDINGS: The administration has not publicly made its legal case. Section 501(a) allows a waiver only to address […]
Analysis: Jones Act waivers risk Puerto Rico jobs
By Julio Rivera. Puerto Rico has seen this novela before. A crisis erupts overseas. Markets panic. Fuel prices jump. And suddenly, the same people who have spent years attacking the Jones Act reappear with a familiar pitch. Suspend it. Waive it. Treat cabotage as the villain and promise relief just around the corner. Now Washington […]
McCown says Jones Act waiver hasn’t reduced gas prices but made profits for profiteers
By Stas Margaronis, Ports & Maritime Editor, American Journal of Transportation. John McCown, maritime analyst and publisher of the McCown Report, says the Trump administration’s stated goal of instituting a waiver of the Jones Act to allow foreign flag carriers to transport petroleum products between US ports so as to reduce high gasoline prices has […]
Emergency Energy Waiver Doesn’t Match the Market
By George Landrith, President, Frontiers of Freedom. America needs a strong oil and gas industry. We also need a strong American maritime industry. Those two propositions should not be in conflict. In a serious nation, energy security and maritime security reinforce each other. Refineries keep our economy moving, our farms productive, our military supplied, and […]
Trump’s Jones Act waiver isn’t ‘America First,’ it’s a gift to foreign fleets
By William P. Doyle, CEO, Dredging Contractors of America. The Trump administration acted quickly after the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, temporarily waiving the Jones Act in hopes of easing pressure on American fuel markets. That was an emergency decision. The question now is whether the facts still justify it. They do not. The […]
Refiners, Not Consumers, Are Biggest Winners From Jones Act Waiver, OSG CEO Says
By Mike Schuler, gCaptain. The Trump administration’s emergency Jones Act waiver has delivered a windfall to U.S. refiners while doing little to lower fuel prices for consumers, according to a new analysis from the head of one of the country’s largest U.S.-flag tanker operators. In a commentary released this week, Overseas Shipholding Group CEO Sam […]
Opinion: The Case for the Jones Act: American Commerce, Workers, Security
By James L. Henry, Chairman, Transportation Institute. For more than 130 days, President Trump has waived the Jones Act, letting foreign ships carry cargo between American ports. Supporters of the waiver call this free trade. It isn’t. Moving oil from Texas to New Jersey is domestic commerce, not trade, any more than a UPS truck […]
Community Rallies to Rebuild Lahaina
By Pasha Hawaii. Nearly three years after the August 8, 2023 Lahaina wildfire, Maui’s recovery has entered a new phase – one defined not by emergency response, but by steady, determined rebuilding. While the headlines have faded, the work continues every day, led by a community that has remained deeply committed to restoring Lahaina, one […]
Jones Act Waiver Has Proven Why Repeal Is the Wrong Answer
By Jennifer Carpenter, President of the American Maritime Partnership. For years, critics of the Jones Act have made the same promises: repeal the law, allow foreign vessels into domestic trade, and American consumers will see lower prices and stronger supply chains. Now the real-world test case is underway, and it is failing to make a […]