The Biden administration said Tuesday it is moving to temporarily waive a law that requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be transported on U.S.-owned and operated vessels. The move over the Jones Act comes in response to the ransomware attack that led to a shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, a critical artery supplying fuels to the East Coast. The U.S. Department of Transportation said in a statement that it has “started the work needed to enable consideration of a temporary and targeted waiver of the Jones Act,” and that it is surveying qualified vessels that can carry petroleum products within the Gulf and from the Gulf up the Eastern Seaboard. Colonial Pipeline is working to restore the system that provides 45% of the fuel consumed on the U.S. East Coast by the end of the week.
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