This week, the discussion around the Trump administration's emergency waiver of the Jones Act grew more heated. The American Maritime Partnership (AMP) drew attention to a Chinese-owned tanker that recently delivered a...
This week, the discussion around the Trump administration's emergency waiver of the Jones Act grew more heated. The American Maritime Partnership (AMP) drew attention to a Chinese-owned tanker that recently delivered asphalt from Louisiana to Connecticut using this national security exemption.
On Friday, AMP highlighted the Chinese-flagged tanker JIN ZHOU WAN (IMO 9802580), operated by COSCO Shipping Asphalt Hainan. This ship completed its journey from New Orleans to New Haven, departing on May 21 and arriving on May 28, according to vessel tracking data analyzed by gCaptain.
AMP stated, “A Department of War designated ‘Chinese Military Company’ just used the 501a national security Jones Act waiver to deliver asphalt to New Haven, CT,” raising concerns about how this delivery served immediate defense needs.
This shipment comes amid increasing criticism of the Trump administration’s 150-day Jones Act waiver. Originally put in place in March due to the Strait of Hormuz crisis, it was later extended through mid-August. This waiver permits some foreign-flagged vessels to transport cargo between U.S. ports, which is usually restricted to vessels that are American-built, owned, flagged, and crewed due to the Jones Act.
The JIN ZHOU WAN is a 13,265-deadweight-ton asphalt/bitumen tanker that was built in 2017 and is registered under the Chinese flag. It is owned and operated by COSCO Shipping Asphalt Hainan, a part of the state-owned China COSCO Shipping Corporation.
AMP has made its opposition to the waiver a key focus of a new national advertising campaign launched this week. The group claims that this exemption is taking jobs away from American mariners and providing minimal economic benefits.
AMP President Jennifer Carpenter said, “Clearly, President Trump has been led to believe that waiving the Jones Act is an effective way to lower gas prices, when we all see that prices have not gone down with the waiver. What the waiver does is put America last by allowing foreign operators and mariners to take American business and jobs.”
AMP is trying to measure the effects of the waiver through a public dashboard that suggests the policy has not provided significant benefits to consumers. Their calculations indicate that shipments under the Jones Act waiver have delivered about 14.9 million barrels of fuel since March 17, which translates to only about 17.7 hours of total U.S. fuel consumption.
The Pentagon keeps a list of companies it labels as “Chinese military companies” operating in the United States. China COSCO Shipping Corporation has appeared on past versions of this list, but the legal and political implications for its commercial shipping subsidiaries are still being debated.
The Trump administration defends the waiver as a temporary emergency measure aimed at stabilizing domestic energy supplies, which have been affected by global oil disruptions due to conflicts in the Middle East.
According to industry analysis referenced by gCaptain earlier this week, at least 60 waiver-approved trips have transported crude oil and refined products between U.S. ports since March. Foreign-flagged tankers have increasingly taken routes to California, the East Coast, Florida, and Puerto Rico.
Whether a shipment of asphalt from Louisiana to Connecticut qualifies as a national security necessity is likely to become a key issue in the ongoing political debate regarding the future of this waiver and the involvement of foreign shipping companies in America’s maritime trade.