By Jonathan Saul and Devika Krishna Kumar
(Reuters) – Oil traders are hiring expensive U.S. vessels, normally only used for domestic shipments, to store gasoline or ship fuel overseas, five shipping sources said, in a sign of how desperate the energy industry is to find places to park petroleum with a 30% drop in worldwide demand.
Several shippers said they have started to book Jones Act (JA) vessels for foreign voyages or to store refined products. The century-old Jones Act requires vessels traveling between domestic ports be owned and operated by U.S. crews, and are generally more expensive than other vessels.
(Reporting By Devika Krishna Kumar and Jonathan Saul, Editing by Franklin Paul)
