Congress Enacts America's Cup and Other Jones Act Waivers

One day after Congress restricted the ability of the U.S. Maritime Administration to sanction Jones Act waivers relating to the sale of Strategic Petroleum Oil, Congress enacted a number of Jones Act waivers in the America's Cup Act of 2011. Specifically, the bill that was introduced in October to permit the use of foreign-flag vessels for the 34th America's Cup was enacted in almost record time and sent to the President on November 19. Along the way, several individual vessel Jones Act waivers were attached relating to three named vessels, three LNG tank vessels which used to be documented in the United States apparently intended to carry cargo from Pennsylvania to the U.S. Gulf coast (assuming the construction of a pipeline for that purpose) and a dry dock operatiing in Alaska. These same waivers were also proposed in the Coast Guard authorization bill passed by the House of Representatives on November 15.

View the bill here.