NEW ORLEANS -- The Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) is criticizing the American Petroleum Institute’s call for an automatic Jones Act waiver process, warning that such a policy would further weaken this vital cornerstone of the U.S. maritime industry into a standing tool for large energy companies and Wall Street traders to circumvent U.S. law and U.S. workers to line their pockets.
“At a time when even President Trump is questioning why consumers are not seeing relief at the pump, oil majors are asking policymakers to make it easier to replace American mariners with foreign crews,” said Aaron Smith, President of OMSA. “If the Jones Act waivers lowered costs for consumers, we would see those benefits now. Instead, the only beneficiaries continue to be large energy companies and traders, while American workers and communities pay the price.”
API’s proposal would establish “market-based trigger criteria” that automatically waive the Jones Actduring supply disruptions and keep that waiver in place until supplies are restored. OMSA warned thatsuch a process would create uncertainty for U.S. vessel operators, shipyards, and mariners, and reinforcesthat American workers can be replaced whenever large energy companies decide it is more convenient orprofitable to use foreign vessels.
Smith continued, “For years, Jones Act opponents have claimed replacing American workers with foreign labor will lower costs for consumers,” Smith said. “We have seen this play out before. Waivers may benefit the bottom lines of major energy companies, but it does nothing to strengthen the American maritime workforce or guarantee relief for American families. At a time when there are growing questions from the White House about oil market manipulation and whether consumers are receiving the benefits they’ve been promised, it is difficult to accept the argument that making the Jones Act waivers automatic would somehow serve the public interest rather than the interests of large energy companies.”
OMSA has repeatedly warned that waiving the Jones Act will not deliver meaningful savings for American consumers. In parts of the offshore energy market where foreign vessels already operate, the use of lower-cost foreign crews has not translated into lower prices for the public. Instead, it has taken opportunities away from U.S. mariners while benefiting foreign operators and the companies that hire them.
The Jones Act exists to ensure American vessels, American shipyards and American mariners support the nation’s domestic economy, energy security and national defense. Waivers undermine that system by replacing American workers with foreign crews, weakening confidence in the domestic maritime industry and reducing the incentive to invest in American-built assets.
“America should not reward those who benefit from market disruptions by outsourcing domestic maritime work,” Smith concluded. “If policymakers are serious about doubling down on energy security, national defense, and supply chain resilience, they should stand behind the American mariners who keep this industry moving, not create new pathways to replace them.”
Media Contact
Kristen Crutchley
omsa@ascentcomms.com
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