There has been much discussion lately among those working in the US Gulf about the proposed changes to the interpretation of the Jones act.

On one hand there is the Offshore Marine Services Association (OMSA), the main US lobby behind these changes. They contend that exemptions regarding the transportation of specialized goods in US waters for the oil & gas industry should be revoked. Currently, offshore vessels such as Pipe or Cable lay & Dive Support Vessels have these exemptions in place. This allows foreign flagged vessels to conduct this work in US waters, crewed in part by foreign mariners.

If the change goes through it will mean that all of the vessels conducting this work will need to be US flagged & their crews consist entirely of Americans. OMSA argues that this will create & protect US maritime jobs.

In the other corner is the International Marine Contractors Association, who argue that the proposal would negatively impact the ability of its members to work in the US market.

IMCA Chief Executive has been quoted as saying, “In short, the CPB proposal would overturn over 30 years of precedent on which the offshore industry has relied, and in which it has invested millions of dollars on the necessary resources to conduct oil & gas operations, with precious little time to provide input to CBP for consideration or find suitable alternatives. This could shut down most activities in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico for an extended period of time as there are currently very limited numbers of coastwise trade vessels existing that have the capacity, or the trained personnel, to perform these activities currently being performed by foreign-flagged vessels.”

As a foreign national working here in the US Gulf I am obviously not happy at the prospect of being forced out. Especially due to the fact that I am already liable for US tax for the priviledge of working here, with none of the benefits that taxation norminally provides. The very short time frame in which the CPB is trying to work is unrealistic, as the logistics of replacing ALL foreign nationals in the Gulf will not be an easy feat. Not to mention the industry downtime that this would involve.

And of course the jobs that would be “created” would be those that the foreign nationals would be forced out of, which we have been doing now for over 30 years.

Here are some more links on this issue:

International Marine Contractors Association:
www.Imca-Int.com

Offshore Marine Service Association:
www.offshoremarine.org

Two sides of the story at CDiver.net
http://cdiver.net/outlook/omsa-applauds-customs-border-control-move-to-enforce-jones-act/
http://cdiver.net/outlook/imca-claims-support-for-opposition-to-americas-jones-act-law-changes/

And lastly, a lengthy discussion on the GCaptain forums:
http://gcaptain.com/forum/professional-mariner-forum/915-fighting-foreign-mariners-gom.html