Charlie Papavizas Discusses Increased Jones Act Enforcement

Maritime & Admiralty Practice Chair Charlie Papavizas was quoted in various publications regarding U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) creation of the National Jones Act Division of Enforcement (JADE). The new office will focus on enforcement of the Jones Act cabotage law.

“It’s a logical consequence of a long-running effort by U.S. flag operators in the Gulf of Mexico to get CBP to be more aggressive in Jones Act enforcement,” Mr. Papavizas told TradeWinds.

The creating of JADE comes after years of calls for increased enforcement of U.S. cabotage law. But Mr. Papavizas says there are still unanswered questions about JADE, which was not couched as one of CBP’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise and which will direct requests for a ruling by the agency to its Office of Regulations and Rulings.

“This plainly is the outgrowth of industry lobbying to get CBP to take Jones Act enforcement more seriously,” Mr. Papavizas told Platts. “But, how it will relate to existing technical processes for determining what the Jones Act covers is not spelled out.”

Seatrade Maritime News, which notes Winston as being “at the center of much of the maritime action in the U.S. capital,” and MarineLog also reference Mr. Papavizas’ blog on the topic, “Customs Announces Stepped Up Enforcement of the Jones Act.”