Nine Unions Accuse Administration of Broken Jones Act Waiver Oversight

At least 255 foreign-flagged vessel movements have moved domestic cargo under the Trump administration's Jones Act waiver, and nine maritime unions now say many of those operators skipped mandatory reporting, filed generic justifications, or crewed their ships with foreign mariners who may be working in the U.S. illegally.

In an October 27 letter to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Ranking Member Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), the unions — including the Seafarers International Union, American Maritime Officers and the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association — argue the waiver has drifted far from what Congress allowed.

The stakes are straightforward. The Jones Act requires domestic waterborne cargo to sail on U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, U.S.-crewed vessels. The waiver, first issued March 17 amid disruptions tied to the war with Iran, set that rule aside. Two extensions later, it expires November 15.

What does the waiver actually permit?

Not as much as operators seem to think. The Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act allows Jones Act exemptions only when "necessary in the interest of national defense to address an immediate adverse effect on military operations."

The unions say the scale of foreign-vessel activity doesn't square with that test. "The Administration, meanwhile, has provided Congress and the public with little of the required information regarding the need for the waivers and the availability of U.S. vessels as required by law," they wrote.

Federal rules require operators to file post-voyage reports with the Maritime Administration within 10 days, covering the vessel, cargo, ports visited and the national defense rationale. According to the unions, some recipients submitted inadequate documentation, missed deadlines, or never reported voyages at all. Many offered generic explanations. Some simply wrote "not applicable" when asked to justify the national defense basis for a movement.

Foreign crews, immigration law and tax exposure

The letter raises a sharper legal question: can foreign mariners holding D-1 visas lawfully work aboard ships carrying cargo between U.S. ports? "Immigration law, for example, prohibits foreign crewmembers holding a D-1 visa from engaging in domestic commerce, yet many waiver operations appear to employ precisely such D-1 visa mariners," the unions wrote.

They also flag recent IRS guidance questioning whether foreign vessel operators and mariners performing domestic transportation owe U.S. taxes. Foreign crews doing American shipping work without meeting comparable licensing and security requirements, they argue, put U.S. mariners at a direct competitive disadvantage.

The national security angle cuts deeper. The letter cites reported use of the waiver by Chinese state-owned carrier COSCO and a separate instance involving Russian mariners. It also references media reports alleging espionage activity by COSCO vessels near U.S. coastlines — though the letter does not claim any waiver vessel engaged in espionage.

"These concerns are especially troubling because the Jones Act waiver authority was intended to strengthen national security," the organizations wrote. "Instead, the program appears to have enabled hundreds of domestic voyages by foreign vessels crewed by foreign mariners operating under exemptions from laws that Congress never intended to set aside."

The numbers behind the oversight fight

The unions' letter lands on top of an already building paper trail:

• On October 19, as gCaptain reported, Carbajal asked Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin how DHS enforces immigration, tax and maritime requirements aboard foreign waiver vessels — with a response demanded by October 31.
• A gCaptain review of MARAD data published September 16 counted 255 completed movements under the original waiver and its first extension.
• gCaptain's September reporting identified at least 14 previously unreported domestic tanker voyages, plus a possible 15th.
• A Bloomberg Government investigation found foreign vessels had moved more than $40 million in petroleum products without appearing in MARAD's public waiver records.

MARAD told Bloomberg Government it lacks legal authority to compel operators to file the required reports. Actual Jones Act enforcement sits with U.S. Customs and Border Protection — a split that helps explain the reporting gap.

The administration has tightened procedure. Under rules introduced with the August 17 extension, operators must submit vessel availability requests before each voyage, letting MARAD check whether a qualified U.S.-flag vessel is free. The Department of War then decides whether the movement qualifies.

Whether that fixes the compliance problem is an open question. The waiver lapses November 15, but the unions want more than an expiry date: "American mariners stand ready to support the nation's energy, transportation, and national security needs," they wrote. "We ask only for a faithful enforcement of the laws enacted by Congress." Expect Carbajal's October 31 deadline for DHS to mark the next pressure point.