A Marshall Islands-flagged tanker called the Garnet Express loaded jet fuel at Marathon Petroleum’s Anacortes refinery in Washington State and headed south to the San Francisco area. It was one of the first foreign-flagged vessels to move refined product between U.S. ports under the 2026 Jones Act waiver, and it made headlines precisely because it was still so unusual.
But for marine insurers and the agents who place marine accounts, the more important question isn’t whether the voyage happened. It’s what that voyage represents for underwriting, crew liability, and coverage adequacy on the accounts already on your book.
From Policy to Practice
When we wrote about the waiver in March, the concern was forward-looking: foreign-flagged vessels entering coastwise service would bring unfamiliar risk profiles, and the lack of case law around crew injury claims would leave claims teams navigating new territory.The Garnet Express is that concern made concrete.
The waiver remains active through May 17, 2026. CBP confirmed that cargo must be loaded before that date, meaning additional foreign-flag coastwise voyages are likely before the window closes. Each one creates the same set of questions for underwriters: What is the vessel’s condition history? Who is crewing it? What does their P&I coverage look like, and does it include Jones Act crew liability? Will the President extend this waiver?
The Crew Liability Question Hasn’t Gone Away
The waiver only affects coastwise carriage rules. It does not change maritime law on crew injuries.What it may do is make it easier for foreign crew to establish a U.S. connection for purposes of a Jones Act claim. A foreign national crewing a vessel that loads cargo in Washington and delivers it to California has made a coastwise voyage between two U.S. ports. That connection matters when courts analyze whether Jones Act remedies apply.
There is still very little case law on this specific fact pattern. But the direction of the risk is clear: claims teams should expect more attempts by foreign crew to file Jones Act claims, higher defense costs regardless of outcome, and more scrutiny of whether P&I policies include explicit Jones Act and MEL coverage.
If those policies assume U.S.-flagged vessels and U.S. crew, they may not respond the way an assured expects.
What Agents Should Be Watching
The Garnet Express voyage received more prominent media coverage because it was one of the first. Future voyages won’t generate headlines, but they carry the same exposure profile.For agents placing marine accounts, the waiver period is a good prompt to ask some practical questions:
- Do your commercial marine and Longshore accounts have any exposure to foreign-flagged vessels entering their supply chain, ports, or terminals?
- Are their P&I or MEL policies and coverage checking procedures structured to respond to crew injuries on foreign-flag vessels operating in U.S. waters?
- Has anything changed about how their operations intersect with coastwise shipping during the waiver period?
A single voyage by a foreign-flagged vessel with a foreign crew, operating under a temporary waiver with no established precedent on crew injury liability, is exactly the kind of scenario that ends up in litigation years after the policy was written.
Questions on Your Marine Accounts?
The marine coverage landscape is shifting in real time, and not all retail agents have the specialty background to evaluate how those shifts affect their clients’ programs. That’s where LIG Marine functions as an extension of your team.If you have accounts with waterfront exposure, vessel operations, or any connection to coastwise shipping, we’re glad to take a look. Reach us at Ask@LIGMarine.com or (727) 578-2800.
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