CBP Drops Plan To Tighten Jones Act Rules On Offshore Equipment

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has withdrawn a proposal to revoke or modify certain interpretations of the Jones Act that impact domestic vessel operators, particularly exemptions related to equipment carried for offshore oil and gas companies.

- Susan Buchanan

After reviewing more than 3,000 public comments, CBP in May decided to keep in place exemptions and the chance for waivers that allow the nation’s oil operators to use foreign-flagged vessels and crews in the Gulf of Mexico and other U.S. waters. This shift conforms to the Trump administration’s America First energy plan announced early this year.

On Jan. 18, CBP proposed revising nearly 30 Jones Act rulings, made over the past 40 years, about what constitutes “vessel equipment.” The agency planned to re-evaluate rulings interpreting the act’s applications to pipe and cable laying, well stimulation, subsea construction and other operations.

The proposal, made in the last days of President Obama’s administration, would have eliminated CBP exemptions allowing foreign crews to do work intended for Americans under the Jones Act, formally known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. U.S. offshore oil and gas operators warned that such a move would cause companies to leave the Gulf of Mexico and head to foreign sites.