As long as the US consumes over 25% of the world’s oil and only produces around 10% with the capacity to produce more in the deep-water GOM, the scales will always be tilted in the direction of every available US oil field work boat to be in the US, not overseas. Every US yard is trying to fill that void at capacity. That is simply a fact.
I’m sure that fact is the biggest one looked at in Washington when foreign vessels help us exploit those oil fields in the GOM. Your voice will just simply have to trump that. But, if you can get the attention of congress by proving that foreign vessels are taking our jobs other than the fact “if” they’re here, they must be. You have a chance. Unfortunately, I think that would have to be out of work and otherwise qualified mariners to get that attention with most attention to factory and autoworkers.