U.S. Coast Guard Approves Use of Additional Foreign Components in Jones Act Vessel Construction

The U.S. Coast Guard issued a ruling on May 27, 2014, to the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) concerning the use of foreign-manufactured items in tank vessels to be constructed at NASSCO for the Jones Act trade. U.S. law requires that all major components of the hull and superstructure of a vessel be fabricated in the U.S. and that the vessel be assembled entirely in the United States. In the past, the Coast Guard has indicated that a number of modules, sub-assemblies, equipment, and outfitting, all of which would be self-supporting and independent of the vessel’s structure, are not components of the hull and superstructure, and therefore can be manufactured abroad. In the most recent ruling, the Coast Guard also affirmed that certain structural shapes generally available in foreign steel mills can be used, including “Asian angles,” “unequal angles,” and “inverted angles.”