Foreign-flagged vessels working in American offshore energy development - such as wind power, and oil and gas - could face more restrictions under a bill introduced in Congress. The bill calls for foreign-flagged vessels to operate under the same rules as U.S. vessels, and limit foreign nationals they hire to work in the U.S. offshore industry. The legislation, introduced by Reps. Garret Graves (R-La.) and John Garamendi (D-Calif.) in the House and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) in the Senate would “level the playing field” by tightening U.S. oversight of foreign vessels and their crews and making sure that U.S. mariners aren’t priced out of the labor market by lower paid foreign seafarers, supporters of the bill say. The American Offshore Workers Fairness Act would close a loophole in current law dating to 1978 that allows foreign-registered vessels and structures to employ nationals of any country while working in U.S. waters, provided they show the vessel is more than 50 percent foreign-owned or controlled.
If the bill becomes law, the legislation will make the following changes:
*Require mariners on foreign-flagged vessels to be either U.S. citizens or citizens of the nation where the vessel is flagged.
*Limit the number of visas that could be issued to crew each foreign vessel and make sure these visas are connected to a mariner’s work on that vessel.
*Require foreign vessels to annually prove their ownership.
*Require U.S. Coast Guard inspections of these vessels annually to ensure compliance with this law.
*Require that foreign crew members secure TWIC cards from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, as is required of U.S. mariners. (Source: Work Boat 02/25/22) Congress considers tightening rules for foreign vessels operating in U.S. offshore energy sector | WorkBoat
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