Waterborne shipments of crude oil and petroleum products from the Gulf Coast to the West Coast more than quadrupled year-on-year in April and May, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. The jump followed a waiver that let a broader group of ships carry cargo between those U.S. ports. Shipments from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast rose too.
A waiver on an old shipping law
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a limited waiver of the Jones Act on March 17 and has renewed it since. The Jones Act requires goods moved between U.S. ports in domestic coastal waters to travel on ships built in the United States, owned by U.S. companies, flagged in the U.S. and crewed by U.S. citizens. The waiver opened that route to a wider set of vessels.
West Coast volumes quadruple
Total petroleum shipments from the Gulf Coast to the West Coast reached 190,000 barrels a day in April, up from less than 30,000 barrels a day in January and February, according to EIA. That pushed total petroleum shipments to the West Coast to more than double the previous record in April, and volumes stayed elevated in May.
From 2021 through February 2026, the month before the waiver, renewable diesel was nearly the only product that moved by tanker and barge on the Gulf Coast to West Coast route, making up 96% of waterborne shipments in most months. In April, gasoline blending components, finished motor gasoline, jet fuel, and crude oil joined that flow.
East Coast shipments set a record
Gulf Coast to East Coast shipments climbed to a record 1.2 million barrels a day in April, 11% above the previous record, EIA said. That route carries most of the country's waterborne fuel transfers between regions, because Florida depends on waterborne deliveries from Gulf Coast refineries for much of its transportation fuel. Gasoline blending components and distillate fuel each set records on the same route in April, at 620,000 barrels a day and 220,000 barrels a day.
| Route | Product | Volume |
|---|---|---|
| Gulf Coast to West Coast | Total petroleum, April | 190,000 b/d |
| Gulf Coast to East Coast | Total petroleum, April | 1.2 million b/d (record) |
| Gulf Coast to East Coast | Gasoline blending components, April | 620,000 b/d (record) |
| Gulf Coast to East Coast | Distillate fuel, April | 220,000 b/d (record) |
| Gulf Coast to East Coast | Crude oil, May | 180,000 b/d (record) |
Total waterborne shipments fell 12% in May from April. Crude oil shipments from the Gulf Coast to the East Coast still rose, to a record 180,000 barrels a day.
