Has the Jones Act Resulted in Foreign Vessels, Particularly Foreign Skimming Vessels, Being Turned Away?
The National Incident Command (NIC) says there has been no case where an offer of foreign assistance has been declined because of the Jones Act. In fact, the U.S. State Department has said that [a] number of offers of assistance have been accepted, including Mexican skimmers, Norwegian skimming systems and other assets from Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands. The Jones Act does not even apply to skimming operations outside of 3 miles from shore. Oil skimming outside 3 miles, including near the well 50 miles from shore that is the source of the leak, is completely open to foreign oil spill response vessels. That is where the vast majority of skimming has occurred so far. The Jones Act also can be waived on a case-by-case basis if there is a need but no American vessel is available to meet that need. That waiver process is always quick but it has been streamlined even further by Admiral Thad Allen and the NIC since the spill to deal with any waiver requests. Additionally, on June 16, 2
