An appeals court in the US has ruled that the tanker Seabulk Trader remains eligible for US coastwise service, despite its double-hulling in China (Fairplay 24,25 August). This landmark decision for the Jones Act sector is a double whammy for US shipbuilders and politicians. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favour of the USCG's National Vessel Documentation Center's approval of the ship's eligibility, overturning a 2008 District Court decision. This obviously strikes a blow to expensive US shipyards, who will get fewer newbuilding orders if this catches on, but also to some politicians. In June last year, Republican congressman Gene Taylor of Mississippi told a hearing that "somebody screwed up... somebody in the Coast Guard wasn't doing their job." In fact, the court has found, somebody was.
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