Presidential Commission Report on DEEPWATER HORIZON Exonerates Jones Act

As the President's National Commission on the DEEPWATER HORIZON incident notes, numerous news reports, op-eds and politicians alleged that the Jones Act impeded the spill response effort. The Commission report indicates that in fact foreign vessels were not rejected (at pages 142-143) because of the Jones Act. Rather, foreign vessels were not used for operational reasons such as being highly inefficient in the response effort required. The report also notes that where the Jones Act did apply, "the National Incident Commander appears to have granted waivers and exemptions when requested."