How did you get banning foreign investment from my posts? Not my words. I support free trade. I also support cabotage laws like the Jones Act, many countries have them. Try doing this in Brazil or Mexico… The Jones Act laws are not mutually exclusive free trade, just promotes and protects a strong US maritime industry which benefits this country in many ways beyond Comany P&L statements…
I wish USA maritime was stronger.
Could have fooled me. You appears to be against anything foreign in US waters. (But not US activity in foreign waters??)
There are plenty foreign vessels and activity in both Brasil and Mexico, incl. US flag vessels.
I have nothing against Cabotage Laws, but the Jones Act is a lot more than that. Name one other country that still have anything similar.
US mariner jobs can be protected by a normal Cabotage Law that prohibit foreign ships from carrying cargo between US ports and foreign crews on ships in domestic trade.
US shipyard can be subsidized within OECD limitations in stead of by Federal Government “subsidies” masquerading behind overpriced contract for Naval ships etc. and State “subsidies” in the form of Tax Intensives".
US Mariners should no longer require protection as “Wardens of the State”, like they are incapable of speaking for themselves. (Through Union membership if they want to)
Bug, there are a few unions left that do their best to protect their turf and cargo preference, especially for relief programs. No problem with that.
No I do not believe in complete protectionism of the OCS just as long as the cabotage laws are respected.
Yes I agree there are many foreign flagged vessels working In other countries (and the US GOM). In Brazil for example the Norman laws require a search for domestic flagged that can do it first… and every vessel working in Brazilian waters have to have a local crew percentage that increases over the term if importation. And there are strict time limits each vessel can be imported in country.
Mexico is similar. All I am asking is the same compliance posture is adopted by our own regulators… in this case the CBP…
There is a big difference between international shipping and effectively importing vessels to work in the “domestic” market. The Foreign companies working on the US OCS pay no US taxes like their US counterparts, hire crews based on the wages of their home countries not US wages… and what safety standards are they held to? OSHA? USCG? All very grey areas exploited in this country.
I agree the days a slave wages and grossly unsafe vessels is largely behind us in the offshore industry and the most common foreign flagged mariners are well trained.
Non of that is my point. My point is that it is time to protect and promote the US industry… instead of foreign companies that contribute little to the US economy working in our back yard, in an industry that is about to blow wide open!
You defiantly sounds like you do.
Cabotage Laws is supposed to be in respect of carriage of cargo, not performing tasks like Geo technical Survey, which is NOT covered by the Jones Act.
Maybe higher standards??? Have you looked at EU and Norwegian safety standards lately? Or maybe you think OSHA and USCG have the toughest safety rules in the world without really fact checking??
THe EEZ is not territorial (domestic) waters and nobody is talking about “importing vessels”. CSVs operate worldwide and do not change flag and crew for every job,( Maybe except. US flag vessels to move outside US EEZ for the odd job?)
Foreign flag vessels and crews pay taxes according to the laws in the country they operate. That applies to US flag (or owned) vessels as much as for anybody else.
Good. You show some realism at least.
US companies doesn’t contribute much to other countries in which they operate either. That is very much the grievance that the EU Commission has against US Tech companies who do not pay taxes and do not follow EU privacy rules.
Where do you get your definition of cabotage from? The interpretation of the Jones Act is fought with ambiguity… in this case it is falling on the side of foreign companies…
And regarding safety standards, no. I do not believe OSHA and or prescriptive USCG standards are the best… but why has MCA issued warnings recently regards offshore wind safety performance?
The regulatory capture by the US offshore wind industry has pretty much allowed BSEE to regulate on the EU safety case model? So the jury is out regarding safety performance. It’s not working in Europe this year?
And let’s talk about BSEE qualifications to manage offshore vessel operations…
It sounds as if you fully support EU companies taking jobs from US companies and benefiting from subsidies paid to build thier industry.
Are you a US Mariner? Are you a US citizen?
Or are you part of the well funded lobby attacking the Jones Act?
Bug sure gets hackles raised. Thats ok
…(sigh)…sometimes I miss the mighty pointy stick of a long absent member…
The Gish Gallop is being used.
During a Gish gallop, a debater confronts an opponent with a rapid series of many specious arguments, half-truths, and misrepresentations in a short space of time, which makes it impossible for the opponent to refute all of them within the format of a formal debate.
Just from what I’ve read here I believe the question of U.S. workers would mostly be the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) not the Jones Act.
EDIT: Looks like it’s both.
Here is a good explanation of the Offshore wind/Jones Act issue with CBP.
From here:
That is what MCA is supposed to do. If somebody does not follow the rules, or if something dangerous that is not yet covered by rules are reported they are supposed to issue warnings, issue rules, or raise a case…
I’m all for protecting the US wind industry. Every other country protects and subsidizes their wind industry so why not us?
Orsted came to New Jersey saying “bring us your commercial fishing boats, we’ll be giving out loans so you can work for us and upgrade your vessels.” Winning the hearts and mind of locals, but then who do they employ in their offshore surveys? They used the Fugro Explorer. Their US built Fugro Americas is now not even an American flagged vessel, its now called the Kobi Ruegg and it is Bahamian flagged.
I blame American companies too from OSV operators to oil majors. For being too short sighted with oil, for overbuilding boats with massive loads of debt. Now all they can do is just watch as the foreign majors reap the rewards because they have no access to capital and no investor confidence.
Great definition and in the US implementation of cabotage laws it restricts movement of “merchandise” and “ Passengers” between points in the US (not ports). This was limited to territorial seas (12 miles) under the Jones Act and OCSLA expanded the interpretation to 200 miles for OCSLA activities.
That is the US cabotage laws. I wish CBP would enforce it for Offshore Wind as they should!
Understood, I read each MCA-HSE safety alert but rarely (I cannot find another example) do they issue a warning with recommendation to a whole industry due to their bad cumulative safety performance. IMCA supports this in IMCA SF 23/20…
The days of the old GOM oil patch cowboys has been gone a long time… GOM vessel operators are competitive in their safety performance with any other international operators. Compliance with regulatory safety requirements is not the challenge… meeting in-house Safety Management Systems fine tuned by the Oil majors over decades is.
So write to your politician. Find your senator, congressmen, etc and just write something to that effect on their contact part of their .gov profile.
Here is what I sent:
I am writing you with regards to protecting the jobs of merchant mariners in the occupation of offshore wind development. Already, foreign vessels and crews have been employed to install and survey wind turbines on the east coast. It is of utmost importance that these jobs go to American merchant mariners. That is why I am recommending that the United States Coast Guard and the Customs and Border Patrol cease giving wavers to foreign companies and vessel operators.
Thank you and great advice. I’m pretty involved in pushing back and have communicated with my state and other representation (Cassidy, Sullivan, Murkowski) AWEA, Vineyard Wind etc… and working to get AMP more proactive on this aspect of Jones Act enforcement…
https://wrm.capitol.texas.gov/home
Handy tool that will help find your representative, at least for Texas.