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The U.S. will temporarily waive the requirements of the Jones Act for Puerto Rico. The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, also known as the Jones Act, requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be carried using American vessels crewed by Americans:
The Trump administration said on Thursday that it would temporarily waive a century-old shipping law for Puerto Rico that officials there said was hindering disaster relief efforts after Hurricane Maria.
The waiver of the law, known as the Jones Act, comes as federal and local officials report more supplies trickling onto the increasingly desperate island. But the Trump administration remains under pressure to step up the recovery effort.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, announced the decision on Twitter on Thursday morning, saying that President Trump had authorized it after a request from Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló of Puerto Rico.
But the real problem for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico? A lack of truck drivers:
It's one thing to get supplies to Puerto Rico. But officials at the Department of Homeland Security, which administers FEMA, say moving goods around the island is the bigger challenge. Diesel is short. Drivers are scarce. And authorities say some roads are still impassable, although local officials dispute that explanation.
These containers were brought to the island by Crowley, a maritime shipping company. The company started unloading shipments on Saturday. By Friday, it will have received four ships, with a total of about 4,000 loaded crates. Crowley says it has more than 3,000 containers there now. That's just one shipping company, at one port. Several other ports are accepting shipments and stranded crates total an estimated 10,000. "This is food, this is water, this is medicine," says Vice President Jose Ayala, who notes a barge a day has arrived since the port opened on Saturday. "It has reached Puerto Rico. The problem is we can't get it on the shelves."
"Plenty of vessels can get cargo to the island," agrees Mark Miller, Crowley's vice president of communications. "But the real difficulty is getting the goods to the people via trucks."
FEMA: Puerto Rico situation has 'improved significantly'
(Score: 1, Troll) by BK on Saturday September 30 2017, @01:57AM (10 children)
Seems like waiving the Jones Act is publicity. The problem is there aren't enough Puerto Ricans willing (or able?) to to bring it from the ports. Why is that?
...but you HAVE heard of me.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Saturday September 30 2017, @02:22AM (6 children)
They cite a lack of truck drivers. Thought they don't explicitly say so, I imagine trucks are also in short supply. Fuel is in short supply. Add those three factors together, and you have the typical mess to be expected after a disaster. Bear in mind that Puerto Rico in the best of times is not an especially wealthy island. Before the hurricanes they had enough trucks running most of the time to keep store shelves stocked. Take away a couple hundred trucks damaged, subtract a handful of drivers who evacuated with their families, then a bunch of other drivers still on the island who are dealing with personal emergencies.
What is probably needed are a couple hundred medium sized trucks from the mainland, with the drivers to operate them. Sounds like a job for the National Guard, if you ask me.
That other factor, impassable roads, sounds like another job for the NG.
(Score: 2) by t-3 on Saturday September 30 2017, @06:03AM (1 child)
I imagine in the best of times it was a wealthy island - how else did it get the name?!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 30 2017, @09:12AM
Puerto Rico de San Juan Bautista was named as such in 1521 so it was more of a wishful thinking for the future than the actual status of the island.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday September 30 2017, @08:36AM (2 children)
There's also a lack of roads - debris and erosion and destroyed roads. [wired.com]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Saturday September 30 2017, @09:37AM (1 child)
We need the Russians, then!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v3LhPRf7rI [youtube.com]
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday September 30 2017, @10:50AM
Mmmm... ZIL 131 6x6 [wikipedia.org] were some beasts.
Example [youtube.com]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by el_oscuro on Saturday September 30 2017, @11:22PM
True. Definitely a job for the NG and/or Army. They have lots of Deuce and a halfs, which would be perfect for this job.
SoylentNews is Bacon! [nueskes.com]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by bradley13 on Saturday September 30 2017, @07:16AM
Why? Because Puerto Rico is just as organized as any other Caribbean island - which is to say: not. This is typical of any disaster relief in the second and third world: The relief goods tends to sit in port, or be stolen.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Saturday September 30 2017, @04:46PM
Something about the island being over a hundred miles long and 35 miles wide.
Even 20 miles is a long way to hump food, water and medicine on your back. Not enough fuel (remember kiddies, fuel pumps mostly run on electricity) not enough clear roads...
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 02 2017, @03:47AM
They live elsewhere now, especially in Florida.
Puerto Ricans often leave the island if they are smart, hard working, able to speak English, or not elderly. The rest of them stay on the island and vote very badly. They vote like the people in Greece or Chicago or Detroit or Venezuela. They retire early with big pensions, causing taxes to go up, and creating greater incentive for the valuable workers to leave the island. The place is crashing and burning.