Jones Act Puts New Jersey in a Pickle

The recent nor'easter has blanketed parts of northern New Jersey with over a foot of snow while also coating roads with a thick layer of ice. Although over 40,000 tons of badly needed rock salt is only a two-day voyage away at a port in Maine, New Jersey is currently unable to use the salt because the carrying vessel is not flagged (registered) under

U.S. law.

As a substitute, New Jersey will only be able to use reserves of liquid

calcium chloride brine--a pretreatment--as a temporary solution until the state can obtain a Jones Act waiver from the federal government. In the meantime, state transportation personnel will have to wait on smaller and slower-moving barges to bring the salt to Port Newark.

The 1920 Jones Act requires that any vessel shipping goods between U.S. ports be built in the U.S., owned by U.S. citizens and crewed by U.S. personnel. The United States Maritime Administration reviews requests for Jones Act waivers on a case be case basis.

Useful Links:

• Further news on this story in particular can be found at NorthJersey.com.
• Pertinent Jones Act provisions can be found here.
• The United States Maritime Administration homepage can be found here.
• The Special Purpose Jones Act Waiver issued in connection with Hurricane Sandy can be found here.