Anyone think this is actually going to be funded in 2022? What is going on with the 2022 federal funding bills?
Now that this has passed AND been funded, has anyone heard any more details on how/when this program will be put into motion?
Crowley just brought in the Stena Polaris. However that is a charter to satisfy a government contract.
OSG has the Mykonos and Santorini in the current MSP program, so will transition to TSP. They also have the Sun Coast, Marshall Island flag, which should transition to US flag and TSP once approval granted. This seems like an opportunity for addâl tankers to be US-flagged and brought into the TSP program. Note that these tankers donât have to be Jones Act tankers, so foreign-built ships are fine so long as they meet US flag requirements. The Jones Act tanker/ATB market is getting tight right now, so it makes sense to bring in non-JA ships and US-flag/crew them for purposes of the TSP. I have heard crewing ships could be an issue, as there is an apparent shortage of qualified US mariners to meet potential demand for US-flagged vessels. Hopefully this is not case, but I guess we will see.
In another thread on here there was talk about the TSP so I did so out of curiosity I tried looking it up and found this thread. Thereâs not much up to date info on it. I canât find any articles or press releases on whatâs going on other than the funding is approved. I donât believe any tankers have been flagged in or transferred in. All I got is rumors from fellow mariners. Anyone have have updates from official sources or know where I could look?
@john Does Gcaptain have any insight on the progress of the program?
The Jones Act Tanker industry has gone through some interesting ups and downs the last couple years. When I was sailing, I thought the company I worked for (hint: red stack) would have used the new tanker security program as a way to keep their laid up ships working. Fast forward 6-8 months and all the laid up tankers are now working again due to high demand for product.
Also I saw mentioned about the fuel coming out of norco going the west coast. Company I worked for was very interested in using their ECO class tankers for that run ( good fuel consumption). In fact I think one ship made a couple runs to California.
Yep, that would have to be renewable diesel out of Valero/DGD/Darling facility. It expanded late 2021. Their Port Arthur RD facility supposed to be up and running end of this year. California is the natural market for RD for various reasons. A lot of additional RD production in the GoM to come online the next few years.
Ironically, OSGâs LEAST efficient tanker, Key West (built 1999), was chosen for a 27 month charter to run RD to LA/LB, and has been doing so since last November. This was before MGO got so expensive. That RD route obviously a long-haul, and tied up JA tanker ton-miles, helping tighten the usual JA market and routes.