Overview
- MARAD’s voyage logs, which cover the waiver issued March 17, 2026, show 45 domestic trips using foreign-flag ships to move energy and fertilizer.
- Foreign tankers carried about 1.59 million barrels of fuel from the Gulf Coast to the West Coast in the first 50 days, with California accounting for the largest share of movements.
- The waiver opened a path for propane to reach Puerto Rico and enabled anhydrous ammonia deliveries, filling a gap created by the lack of U.S.-flag LPG tankers.
- Energy firms used the flexibility to shift domestic supply, as Phillips 66 moved Bakken crude to its Bayway refinery and Chevron said the policy let it deploy ships otherwise barred from these routes.
- MARAD approved specific shipments as emergency responses to Iran-related supply shocks, and data show no Chinese or Russian-flag vessels, countering common security objections.