I'm not into Americablog much, but I did come across a story there that I didn't see here. The story is by Business Insider and written by Dian L. Chu.
Apparently a number of countries have offered the US help with the BP spill but it has been refused. This story offers a reason why.
Despite the vow by President Obama to keep the Gulf oil spill a top priority until the damage is cleaned up, 50 days after the BP rig exploded, a definitive date and meaningful solution is yet to be determined for the worst oil spill in the U.S. history.
So, you would think if someone is willing to handle the clean-up with equipment and technology not available in the U.S., and finishes the job in shorter time than the current estimate, the U.S. should jump on the offer.
But it turned out to be quite the opposite.
Original Story
The governments of Canada, Croatia, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Korea, Spain, Sweden the UK and the UN have offered to help and that help has been refused. Why? A Belgian-Dutch company, DEME claims that it is because of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 (the Jones Act).
Essentially, it requires goods transported by water between US ports be carried in US flagged, US constructed, US owned, US crewed (75%) ships. The outside nations are saying this is what is preventing them from helping with the BP spill.
Apparently however, the Maritime Administration can waive the requirements of the act in certain periods.
Requests for waivers of certain provisions of the act are reviewed by the United States Maritime Administration on a case by case basis. Waivers have been granted for example, in cases of national emergencies or in cases of strategic interest. For instance, declining oil production prompted MARAD to grant a waiver to operators of the 512-foot Chinese vessel Tai An Kou to tow an oil rig from the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska. The jackup rig will be under a two-year contract to drill in the Alaska's Cook Inlet Basin. The waiver to the Chinese vessel is said to be the first of its kind granted to an independent oil-and-gas company.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff temporarily waived the U.S. Shipping Act for foreign vessels carrying oil and Natural gas from September 1 to 19, 2005.
Pressure exerted by 21 agriculture groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, failed to secure a U.S. Shipping waiver following Hurricane Katrina. The groups contended that farmers would be adversely affected without additional shipping options to transport grains and oilseeds.
Now there are other criticisms of the act, namely that is has prevent the US from being able to build ships competitively for entities beyond the borders, that is, it has stagnated the ship-building industry in the name of protectionism. While this probably DOES keep the wages and salaries of the current workers high (i.e. no race to the bottom) it means the industry as a whole is not producing nearly as many jobs as it could.
But that's really not the point right now, the point here is, is there outside aid that can help with the spill and the cleanup? That seems to be the case. Can they help? No. Our own laws prevent it. But they can be waived.
The Maritime Administration is under the Department of Transportation, so why hasn't LaHood instructed them to waive the provisions? Can he? Can Obama? Why isn't all the help offered accepted? Why are we being forced to go it alone?
The Full Text of the Jones Act (2006 Recodification).