Should the US build requirement of the Jones Act be abolished?

I’ve already charted US ship deliveries from 1951-1990 using MARAD data here: https://www.cato.org/blog/subsidies-misplaced-shipbuilding-nostalgia

Commercial ships is referring to unlimited >3000 ITC bluewater commercial trading ships I assume? Perhaps Kennebec_Captain included non-bluewater commercial construction?

Why mandate a US-built LNG tanker for every foreign one flagged in? Strikes me as a de facto tax on new ships that will only serve as an obstacle to the merchant marine’s expansion.

Pretty sure the confusion comes from US shipyards having over 70 ships on their orderbooks in 1975, not annual production: https://www.bts.gov/archive/publications/maritime_trade_and_transportation/2002/figure_02_01_table

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Here is an article highlighting what you were talking about.

New Crowley vessel set to make history as first LNG ship to be reflagged to US under Jones Act loophole | TradeWinds

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Update: thanks to an exemption from the build requirement there is now a US-flagged LNG tanker

A Jones Act exemption for a few LNG ships probably makes sense. There are no other US Flag LNG ships for it to unfairly compete against.

They are highly specialized ships. No US shipyard still in business has ever built one, nor will they ever learn how to build an LNG ship cost effectively enough to prompt orders.

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Take that Quincy!
And Avondale.

Shipbuilders of the US appreciate your edit. But still doubt your judgment of their ability to learn.

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New Crowley vessel set to make history as first LNG ship to be reflagged to US under Jones Act loophole

Vessel lined up for US-Puerto Rico trading after purchase by US owner:
https://www.tradewindsnews.com/gas/new-crowley-vessel-set-to-make-history-as-first-lng-ship-to-be-reflagged-to-us-under-jones-act-loophole/2-1-1766539

Another pair of old steam turbine LNG carrier are available in the market:
https://www.tradewindsnews.com/gas/sinokor-maritime-floats-two-elderly-lng-steamships-for-scrap-or-trading/2-1-1762096
Could it be these two? If so, will they end up under US-flag too?

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If so, will they end up under US-flag too?

Seems very unlikely as these ships are built in 2003 and 2004 while the loophole allowing the use of foreign-builds in the Puerto Rico trade only applies to ships built in October 1996 or before.

Interesting that these are described as “elderly.” What does that make Crowley’s new acquisition, which is 9-10 years older?

New by USMM standards!

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The Bering Energy (Ex- LNG Leo) and Gulf Energy (Ex - LNG Gemini) are still sitting in layup in Norway. They are way old by industry standards, but the 2011 America’s Cup Act would allow them to reflag back to USA and be Jones Act qualified. I’m not sure on how the metrics work for bringing such old vessels up to standards (installing BTWS systems, upgrades, etc) or if would even be economically viable. Sinokor owns these vessels and maybe let them go for cheap? Is there enough demand for domestic LNG transportation? Could Crowley’s move spark a movement for a Jones Act LNG demand? Be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Latest picture I could find, August 2024 laid up in Norway

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The US is one of the World’s largest producers and exporters of LNG, the cleanest fossil fuel.

Abundant, relatively cheap natural gas is essential for generating electricity and fueling US manufacturing.

It would make more sense to expand pipeline capacity to underserved parts of the US, but until that can be done, there is demand for Jones Act LNG shipping capacity. The LNG coming from Trinidad to Boston could be replaced by LNG from Texas.

But rather than create loopholes for old ships, let’s buy some relatively new LNG ships.

One of the Jones Act loopholes is for vessels that are or were owned by the US Government.

If US industry has a need for Jones Act LNG ships, the government could buy a few and then lease or sell them to US companies.

Or the government could buy a company that owned an entire fleet of LNG ships and re flag them.

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My understanding is that that loophole no longer is applicable as the vessels were sold since the America’s Cup Act was passed, thus terminating their ability to secure a coastwise endorsement (or am I reading this wrong?):

Thanks for the pic.

Or Congress could just pass legislation allowing Americans to use new foreign-built LNG (and LPG) tankers in domestic trade.

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No need to involve Congress and risk opening the Jones Act to other changes if the government simply buys a ship and resells it.

In theory, Congress would need to appropriate the money, but in reality there is plenty of money in existing programs that could be used short term to buy an LNG ship and resell it.

Congress has passed JA exceptions for LNG ships before. They can do so again. Having the government buy ships and then lease out seems like a Rube Goldberg solution.

LNG cargo operations and heel management are pretty straightforward, but I doubt there are any US mariners capable of operating the cargo plant of an LPG carrier. Even fully refrigerated VLGC ships require a lot of experience to operate the reliquefication plant.

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You might be correct on timeline having passed for these vessels to return to domestic trade. That is unfortunate, guess we’ll see if anything comes of any type of Jones Act LNG fleet.

Gonna be plenty of cheap LNG tankers out there: https://gcaptain.com/lng-shipping-rates-plunge-on-increasing-vessel-availability/