The seven-day Jones Act waiver announced Friday by the Department of Homeland Security in recognition of the severity of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma prompted a flurry of fixing activity for non-US flagged Medium Range tankers loading gasoline on the US Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast to sail to Florida. The Jones Act requires vessels transporting goods between US ports to be US-flagged, US-built and majority US-owned. “There have not been any [Jones Act] ships to work with prior to Irma; ships have been snapped up [after Harvey],” a Jones Act tanker broker said. Port Everglades on Florida’s southeast coast and Port Tampa Bay on the west side reopened Tuesday, allowing fuel cargoes to replenish supply drained by last week’s massive evacuation for Hurricane Irma. The waiver permits non-US flagged vessels to deliver US products within points in the US from September 8-15 as a precautionary measure to ensure that […]