MARAD Finalizes Jones Act Platform Jacket Rule

The U.S. Maritime Administration will finalize its rule for granting Jones Act waivers for the transportation of offshore oil drilling and production platform jackets on October 12, 2010.  The rule stems from legislation in 1988 and 2004 where Congress established a framework for waivers to be granted when no qualified U.S.-flag vessel is available as determined by MARAD. The process is a good example of a process compromising the interests of developers and Jones Act interests where there is a scarcity of specialized vessels for a particular function (transporting and launching huge platform jackets).