By Dian L. Chu, Economic Forecasts & Opinions
There has been some new information since June 8, when I quoted a Belgian newspaper–De Standarrd–that the Jones Act may have caused a delay in the oil spill rescue by forbidding foreign vessels and personnel to work in the U.S. Gulf.
As it has turned out, the Belgian companies shouldn’t feel too bad, the U.S. government also turned down an official offer by the Dutch government as well.
According to Houston Chronicle–quoting Geert Visser, consul general for the Netherlands in Houston–three days after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, the Dutch government offered to help by providing ships outfitted with oil-skimming booms, and proposed a plan for building sand barriers.
The [Dutch] embassy got a nice letter from the administration that said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’” Visser said
However, almost seven weeks later, our government has reconsidered. As Houston Chronicle reports, “U.S. ships” were being outfitted earlier this month with four pairs of skimming booms airlifted from the Netherlands and should be deployed “within days.”
Each pair of booms supposedly can process 5 million gallons of water a day, removing 20,000 tons of oil and sludge. (Math Q of The Day: Multiply these numbers by 50 days.)
The sand barrier proposal by the Dutch was initially rebuffed as well, but later accepted by the U.S. government. BP has begun paying about $360 million to cover the costs.
Now, Christian Science Monitor says today that
The Coast Guard Friday “redoubled” efforts…by calling in more skimming boats and equipment from the Netherlands, Norway, France, and Spain after previously telling one Dutch official “Thanks, but no thanks,” to an offer of help. That revelation comes as Florida lawmakers beg for more skimmers….Meanwhile, US marine interests complain that up to 1,500 US-flagged skimmers sit idle, and should be used first.
There are conflicting statements from Adm. Allen saying, “To date, nobody has come for a Jones Act waiver,” and Coast Guard Captain Roger Laferriere, the second-in-command, that both Allen and President Obama had worked to waive the Jones Act to allow more foreign vessels to attack the spill.
Furthermore, there are reportedly requests and legislative filing from Florida Attorney General and Sen., Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R) of Texas to waive the Jones Act, to hasten oil spill efforts, and to welcome more high-tech foreign clean-up boats.
So, it seems confusion has steadily built around the exact US skmmer strategy and the Jones Act with politics clearly in the midst of all. And unfortunately so far, nothing seems to suggest clarity any time soon.
