The Sea and Mr Jones – How the Maritime Act Restricts Coastal Shipping
Most Americans only come into contact with the Jones Act when they wonder why their cruise ship stopped off at a foreign port. This maritime legislation from a bygone era (1920) is nearly a century old. The Jones Act increases costs for US coastal shipping. That constraint has restricted the availability of waterborne options to alleviate recent US energy supply bottlenecks. Today we look at the impact of the legislation in energy markets.
The US American Phoenix, a 339 MBbl oil tanker built in Mobile, AL was launched earlier this year on June 21, 2012 (see picture below). The American Phoenix is the only US built tanker to be launched so far in 2012. On her maiden voyage in August the American Phoenix delivered a cargo of gasoline from Lake Charles, LA to Port Canaveral FL, two United States ports.
