US President Donald Trump's move allowing foreign-flagged cargo ships to move fuel and other goods between domestic ports has so far had little impact on American oil supply, according to trade data and analysts who noted that US refiners and shippers are earning more profits sending fuel overseas.
Last month, Trump waived Jones Act limitations for 60 days starting March 17, hoping the move would help tame the surge in fuel prices caused by the Iran war by increasing shipments from the US Gulf Coast to other coastal markets in the country.
So far, however, shipping data shows the move has not boosted US oil flows between domestic ports. Instead, US fuel exports hit a record high last month, as refiners shipped more fuel from the US Gulf Coast to Asia and Europe, and even reversed traditional flows to export from the US East Coast to Europe.
The Jones Act limits movements of goods between US ports to US-flagged vessels only. Low availability of such vessels was partly blamed for high fuel prices in California, Hawaii, and other US markets that lack pipeline connections to US Gulf Coast refiners.
Crude oil, refined products, biofuels and liquid chemicals shipments between US ports were virtually unchanged in March from February, at about 1.37 million barrels per day, Kpler data showed.
Liquids exports from the US Gulf Coast to other US coastal markets declined to 770,000 bpd in March, from 826,000 bpd in February, the Kpler data showed.
Asian and European oil markets have been hit hardest by the Middle East war, as Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has cut off refiners in those continents from their regular crude and fuel exporters. As a result, US refiners are reaping better margins sending fuel abroad than sending it within US markets.
European gasoil futures, used to price diesel in the region, traded north of $200 a barrel on Monday, compared to US ultra-low sulphur diesel futures, the US pricing benchmark, at under $185.
"With incredible arbitrage opportunities involving various continents, I'm not sure when there might be a few vessels that could, say, bring Gulf Coast product to the Northeast," said Tom Kloza, chief energy adviser to Gulf Oil.
In addition to better prices for refiners, ship owners are also earning more sending vessels on longer journeys from the US to Asia. Asian refiners have been bidding up for vessels in the Atlantic Basin so that they can use them to import more US crude to replace the Middle East supply they have lost.
This has tightened the US Gulf Coast tanker market and sent freight rates skyrocketing.
"We are not seeing any real response or results (of the Jones Act waiver) because all freight -- whether via US flagged vessels or foreign flagged vessels -- skyrocketed at the end of March," Kloza said.
(Reporting by Shariq Khan in New York and Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio)
