U.S. MILITARY USES NON-U.S. TANKER IN JONES ACT TRADE
The U.S. Military Sealift Command has chartered a Spanish-owned,
Cypus-flag tanker, operated by a non-U.S. crew, to carry cargo in the U.S.
domestic trade.
The Jones Act requires such domestic shipments to move in U.S.-flag
vessels, but the sealift command said no American-flag tankers were
available to carry jet fuel needed for resupply during the Kosovo crisis.
The agency said it was the first time it had chartered a non-U.S.-flag
tanker.
The tanker will sail on a 17-day voyage from Corpus Christi, Texas, to
Portland, Maine, with intermediate stops in Houston and Puerto Rico.