The Trump administration's emergency Jones Act waiver is rapidly reshaping U.S. oil flows, opening domestic shipping routes to foreign flagged tankers and triggering trade patterns rarely seen in modern American energy markets. New analysis from RBN Energy shows at least 60 waiver approved shipments have moved crude oil and refined products between U.S. ports since the White House suspended key Jones Act restrictions in the middle of March following the Strait of Hormuz crisis. The waiver has since been extended through August 17.
More than 3 million barrels of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and crude oil have already moved into California alone, according to RBN, while additional Gulf Coast cargoes are flowing to the East Coast, Florida and Puerto Rico. RBN described the activity as dozens of foreign flagged vessels moving crude and products around the country, not a one off cargo here or there. In practice the foreign tankers are now functioning as an extension of the U.S. domestic fuel distribution system.
California has emerged as the clearest example of the shift. The state imported roughly 230,000 barrels per day of Middle Eastern crude last year, according to Kpler, leaving refiners exposed after Gulf shipping disruptions cut access to Persian Gulf supplies. At the same time California has lost about 575,000 barrels per day of conventional refining capacity since 2020 after Phillips 66 and Valero closures and renewable fuel conversions.
Among the largest shipments tracked by RBN was the Singapore flagged Pelican Pacific, which carried 322,000 barrels of gasoline blendstock from Houston to Los Angeles. The Singapore flagged Solar Claire ran multiple fuel deliveries from Texas Gulf Coast refineries into California, while the Marshall Islands flagged Garnet Express moved nearly 300,000 barrels of gasoline from Washington State to Northern California. The Cabo Deseado, also Marshall Islands flagged, shuttled heavy crude and refinery feedstocks between Northern and Southern California refineries.
The waiver matters for the broader industry because it sets a precedent for how Washington can lean on foreign tonnage when geopolitical shocks strain U.S. supply chains. For tanker owners it has opened previously closed coastwise lanes through August, and for U.S. shipyards and Jones Act operators it raises questions about how far emergency exemptions can stretch before they reshape the protected fleet's commercial base.