OMSA hits back at claims that Jones Act revisions would hurt US economy
The US Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) has spoken up in defence of proposed changes to the Jones Act, which would remove exemptions that currently allow foreign vessels to carry equipment for repair work on offshore oil facilities in US waters.
These changes, proposed by the Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP), were criticized two days previously by the American Petroleum Institute (API), which released a study claiming the rules changes would cost US jobs by reducing oil and gas activity in the Gulf of Mexico.
OMSA – the leading association of the offshore marine transportation service industry in the US – hit back at that claim saying that, on the contrary, the changes would generate 3,200 new US jobs and $700m in economic output.
It also disputed that production in the Gulf would be impeded by transferring from foreign-flagged to US flagged vessels for carrying these essential items.