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 […]
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 […]
What the Washington Post Gets Wrong about the Jones Act
After more than 100 days, ships using the Jones Act waiver moved only about 32 million barrels of petroleum. That is roughly 1.5 percent of U.S. petroleum consumption during that same period. According to analysis from American Maritime Partnership and Navigistics Consulting, about 18 percent of waiver voyages were performed by vessels linked to Chinese […]
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 […]
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 […]
Gas Prices and the Jones Act: A Market Reality Check
By Sam Norton, CEO of Overseas Shipholding Group. Gasoline prices in the US are on the rise and the Trump Administration is “looking at all options” to reverse this inconvenient collateral effect of war in the Middle East. A reflexive impulse of those seeking easy answers to a complicated problem is to boldly suggest that […]
Jones Act Carriers Fuel Oregon During Energy Shortage
This article was originally published in December 2025 by the American Maritime Officers. It’s become a common sight to see fleets of Jones Act tankers coming to deliver life-saving aid after natural disasters hit America’s coastal areas. But those same American-owned, American-built, American-crewed vessels also respond to other distress calls around the nation. In November, […]