US waives Jones Act for tanker off Puerto Rico

President Joe Biden's administration has waived maritime shipping restrictions under the Jones Act to allow a fuel tanker carrying diesel to be unloaded in storm-ravaged Puerto Rico.

The waiver of the Jones Act will allow "300,000 gallons of much-needed diesel" to be discharged in the US territory, the White House said. Puerto Rico is recovering from damage from Hurricane Fiona, which knocked out electrical service of nearly 1.4mn customers after making landfall on 18 September.

Puerto Rico governor Pedro Pierluisi (D) has pressed US homeland secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to grant a broad waiver of the Jones Act — which requires cargo between domestic ports to be transported on US-flagged vessels — so diesel and other fuel could quickly be unloaded.

Mayorkas issued a waiver for the diesel tanker on Wednesday. the "temporary and targeted" waiver would ensure Puerto Rico residents have enough diesel to continue running electrical generators, Mayorkas said. About 335,000 customers still did not have power as of Wednesday morning, according to the US Energy Department.

Puerto Rico does not have any refining capacity and imports about 130,000 b/d of petroleum products for use in transportation and electricity generation, according to the federal data. Puerto Rico's ports have been open without restrictions since 21 September.

US representative Nydia Velazquez (D-New York) and seven other Democrats in the US House of Representatives last week urged Mayorkas to grant a comprehensive one-year waiver of the Jones Act for Puerto Rico as a way to accelerate its recovery from the storm. Jones Act tankers typically cost more to charter than foreign-flagged vessels.

But administration officials say they can only grant waivers on a case-by-case basis because of new restrictions on long-term waivers the US Congress enacted in 2020. The White House said it supports the century-old Jones Act and urged all refineries to use Jones Act-compliant vessels whenever possible.

By Chris Knight