According to U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) data, on August 1, the France-flagged vessel Champagny, delivered 313.2 Mbbl (~10 Mb/d) of propane from Energy Transfer's Marcus Hook terminal in Pennsylvania to the Sea-3 terminal in Rhode Island (RI), pictured below. Since the Jones Act waiver was issued on March 17, 2026 there have been six movements of propane under the waiver including this latest cargo. All propane shipped under the Jones Act waiver thus far had been from either Houston or Marcus Hook to Puerto Rico, with this latest inter-PADD 1 transfer marking the first instance of propane moving within the lower-48 states under the waiver.
Under the 90-day waiver extension in-effect August 17, qualifying voyages will now be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and the Pentagon will now be required to consult MARAD on the availability of Jones Act vessels. Eligible commodities have also been narrowed, with reports from major news outlets citing White House officials mentioning the new waiver will only apply to certain energy resources but cover most products that were covered previously. It's not clear at this time if propane is included in that list, but given the waiver's use to support Puerto Rico, and now New England propane supply, it would be a surprise if it was excluded.
Source: Blackline Midstream
The Sea-3 RI import terminal was purchased along with the rest of Blackline Midstream's assets by EQT last month. The $77 million deal closed July 21, 2026 and includes the RI terminal which received the cargo, as well as the other Sea-3 import terminal in New Hampshire (NH). The RI terminal imports propane by sea, while the NH terminal can import propane by rail as well. The product is then transported by truck or railed out to serve PADD 1 consumers, mainly for residential heating and commercial use. The Sea-3 RI terminal has a storage capacity of 16 MMgal (381 Mbbl) and the NH site can store up to 23.5 MMgal (560 Mbbl) of propane. These two facilities are the only large-scale refrigerated propane storage operations in New England and serve a critical role in balancing the PADD 1 propane market.
