Sponsors (5)
The bill expands market access for U.S. vessels and tightens nationality-based exclusions to protect energy shipments, trading increased domestic shipping capacity and revenue for higher compliance burdens, reduced available tonnage, and potential diplomatic/market repercussions.
U.S.-flagged or U.S.-documented vessel owners (and their crews) can obtain certificates/coastwise endorsements to transport domestic crude and petroleum products, increasing market access and potential revenue for U.S. shipping businesses.
More U.S.-documented vessels authorized to carry domestic crude strengthens U.S. shipping capacity and energy supply-chain resilience, reducing reliance on foreign-flagged tonnage for domestic oil transport.
Excluding vessels owned, flagged, or crewed by Russian or Chinese nationals lowers the risk of foreign-state influence over U.S. energy shipments and aligns transport policy with national-security concerns.
Ships with multinational crews or complex foreign ownership structures could be barred from receiving certificates, reducing available tonnage for oil transport and potentially raising shipping costs and, indirectly, fuel or energy prices for businesses and consumers.
Owners and operators will face higher compliance and administrative costs to verify crew nationality and ownership structures to qualify for certificates, burdening small shipping firms and raising operating costs.
Nationality-based exclusions risk diplomatic friction or reciprocal measures that could limit U.S. shipping access abroad and create broader trade or security repercussions.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows U.S. documentation and coastwise-endorsement consideration for vessels transporting crude oil and petroleum products, except those with Russian or Chinese ownership, flag, or crewmembers.
Introduced March 19, 2026 by Scott Perry · Last progress March 19, 2026
Allows vessels that carry crude oil and petroleum products to obtain U.S. documentation and be considered for coastwise endorsement, with three security-related exceptions that block eligibility for vessels owned/flagged by Russia or China or with any Russian or Chinese crewmember. The change adds crude oil and petroleum products to the list of cargoes that can qualify a vessel for coastwise status under current law.