MaritimeFedWatch

The U.S. Maritime Administration proposed changing the way persons prove U.S. citizenship for participation in various programs on July 1, 2025. Those regulations were last adjusted in 2004. MARAD proposed changes initially in 2019. The proposal is of special interest to public companies seeking to qualify for MARAD programs.

On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Trade Representative imposed a series of fees on Chinese-owned and -operated vessels, Chinese-built vessels, and foreign-built car carriers starting in October 2025. The USTR also proposed additional duties on Chinese-manufactured ship-to-shore cranes and certain cargo handling equipment. The range of fees, the application of the fees to car carriers not connected with China, and the crane fees are all new and did not appear in the USTR’s February 2025 proposal.

On February 21, 2025, the U.S. Trade Representative proposed trade sanctions against Chinese-built vessels and against Chinese company-operated vessels. The proposed sanctions stem from an investigation under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 which commenced on April 17, 2024, culminating in a report issued on January 16, 2025, affirming the petition.  

U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed on August 21, 2024 its Jones Act interpretations relating to the installation of foundations for an offshore wind project which it issued last year. 

The United States restricts its domestic maritime trade, including its fisheries, to defined “United States citizens.”  Although maritime citizenship law is rigorous, it permits certain foreign investment provided vessels remain under U.S. citizen control.

The United States reserves its domestic maritime trade to vessels “built in the United States” under a set of laws popularly referred to as the “Jones Act.” What qualifies as “U.S. built” under the law and U.S. Coast Guard interpretations was recently tested in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit case of Diamond Services Corp. v. Curtin Maritime Corp.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently issued three rulings on multiple facets of the transportation by water of liquified natural gas. All three rulings addressed how the U.S. Jones Act, which is a set of U.S. laws restricting U.S. domestic maritime commerce to qualified U.S.-flag vessels, applies to LNG transportation.

The U.S. Congress has been actively considering legislation since 2022 that would restrict the use of foreign vessels in U.S. offshore projects. Both oil and gas and renewable energy projects would be affected. The latest version of that legislation was introduced on October 5, 2023, by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) entitled the “American Worker Fairness Act.”

On April 26, 2023, the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee reported favorably H.R. 2741, the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2023, including the two provisions which will have an effect on the ability of the United States to produce both oil and gas resources offshore and renewable energy offshore.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 sent to President Biden for his signature on December 16, 2022 contains a major expansion of the Capital Construction Fund vessel tax deferral program designed to help finance the construction of vessels in the United States.

The Biden Administration announced today a new federal-state offshore wind partnership to spur the installation of electricity generating wind turbines off the U.S. coast.

On April 21, 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection posted on its public website a ruling dated April 14 which addresses in one ruling many of the Jones Act issues which arise from the installation of offshore wind turbines off the coasts of the United States.

On March 3, 2022, the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii sent an open letter to President Biden purporting to request a one-year waiver of the Jones Act to permit the use of foreign-flag vessels to transport crude oil from Alaska or the lower 48 states to Hawaii.

Legislation was introduced on February 15, 2022, in the U.S. Congress by Representatives Garret Graves (R-LA) and John Garamendi (D-CA) and on February 17, 2022, by Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) that would restrict the citizenship of personnel manning vessels, rigs, platforms, and structures operating on the U.S. outer continental shelf in both the offshore wind and oil and gas industries.

On January 12, 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced plans to auction on February 23 almost 500,000 acres off the coast of New York and New Jersey (known as the New York Bight) for offshore renewable energy development. 

On November 15, 2021, the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) made public allegations that a foreign vessel had violated U.S. coastwise law (popularly referred to as the “Jones Act”) and offshore manning laws (and also safety and pollution laws) in the conduct of offshore wind-related survey work.

On November 9, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection made public a ruling dated November 2 regarding the laying and burial by a foreign vessel of fiber optic cable in U.S. waters and the transportation of technicians by that vessel.

The closure of the Colonial Pipeline has given rise to discussions about whether the U.S. “Jones Act” should be waived to permit foreign tank vessels to transported refined petroleum products from the U.S. gulf coast to the U.S. east coast. The “Jones Act,” however, is not easy to waive and is rarely waived.

On March 31, 2021, the Biden Administration announced “The American Jobs Plan” to build and re-build America’s infrastructure. Among other things, the Plan seeks to “build world-class transportation infrastructure” including modernizing 20,000 miles of roads, reconstructing ten of the most economically significant U.S. bridges and repairing 10,000 small bridges.

On December 8, 2020, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, an independent research arm of the U.S. Congress, issued a report on vessels needed for U.S. offshore wind projects. The report entitled – Offshore Wind Energy – Planned Projects May Lead to Construction of New Vessels in the U.S., but Industry Has Made Few Decisions amid Uncertainties – captures the amorphous nature of the task GAO was given.