Legislation Aims to Exempt Puerto Rico from Jones Act

摘要

The humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico following the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria gave an opening to critics of the Jones Act to blame the law for hindering the island's relief and the recovery efforts. It led to the introduction of two bills in Congress that would either exempt or provide a moratorium of the Jones Act in Puerto Rico. Two maritime attorneys at the well-respected law firm of Blank Rome LLP, Washington, DC, see little chance of either bill making headway in Congress. In discussing the Jones Act at the NAMEPA Annual Conference & Awards Dinner last month onboard the Hornblower Infinity in New York, Jeanne Grasso, Partner, and Joan Bondareff, of Counsel, both of maritime law firm Blank Rome LLP, said "We suspect that the Jones Act waivers during the hurricanes may have been partly politically motivated. But once DoD requests them, they have to be issued."