-- US crude shipments via foreign vessels begin after a Jones Act waiver, marking the first such cargo since the March 18 policy shift, according to a Bloomberg analysis on Thursday.
Phillips 66 (PSX) loaded Bakken crude in early April from Beaumont, Texas, onto the Malta-flagged Htm Warrior for delivery to Pennsylvania, the report said.
The cargo will supply the Trainer refinery in Pennsylvania, operated by Monroe Energy, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines (DAL), expanding supply options for East Coast refiners, according to the analysis.
President Donald Trump signed a 60-day Jones waiver on March 18, allowing foreign-flagged ships to transport goods between US ports, the analysis added.
The waiver temporarily suspends the 1920 Jones Act, which requires vessels moving cargo between US ports to be US-built, US-flagged and US-operated, the analysis said.
The administration introduced the exemption to boost fuel and crude supplies amid geopolitical tensions linked to Iran that disrupted global energy flows.
No other foreign-flagged vessels have carried US crude from the Gulf Coast to the Atlantic Coast since the waiver took effect, the analysis said, citing Kpler data.
However, multiple cargoes of Middle Eastern crude have recently moved along the same route on foreign-flagged ships, highlighting shifting trade flows under the temporary policy change, the analysis added.