An American offshore services trade group is accusing Swiss-headquartered Geoquip Marine of violating the Jones Act, a U.S. law requiring seaborne cargo shipped between two U.S. points to be carried by American-built, -crewed and -owned vessels.

A report published by the Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA) alleges that Geoquip Marine’s Geoquip Saentis—a Chinese-built, foreign-crewed and Bahamian-flagged vessel—transported subsoil samples from points on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to U.S. ports for testing in support of an offshore wind project.

“U.S. wind power should mean U.S. jobs,” said OMSA president Aaron Smith. “Our report provides a case study of how far too often wind projects are instead creating jobs for Estonians and Romanians, while capable American mariners sit on the shore. We’ve detailed how a foreign company—by their own admission—used a Chinese-built vessel with foreign crew members to transport cargo within U.S. waters. That’s illegal.”

“Lobbyists for the offshore wind industry have claimed their clients will only utilize foreign-flagged vessels when there is not a U.S.-flagged vessel available,” Smith added. “Today’s report shows that’s simply not true. Wind developers will continue to exploit lax enforcement of U.S. laws to utilize Chinese-built and foreign-crewed vessels.”

In response to OMSA’s report, Geoquip Marine said its vessels do not transport cargo or merchandise: “The Geoquip Saentis is an [integrated geotechnical survey vessel], it is dedicated to research and has world-leading drilling technology and an onboard laboratory. It collects seabed data, allowing geotechnical parameters to be derived and supporting environmental research.

 

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