Reading Room Document

Use of Foreign Vessels to Transport Petroleum from the Virgin Islands to the United States Mainland

Under the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, the President is authorized to extend the coastwise laws of the United States to the Virgin Islands, and thus mandate the use of U.S. vessels for transportation of passengers and merchandise from the Virgin Islands to the U.S. mainland. There is a strong argument that the President is empowered to make the coastwise laws applicable to the Virgin Islands solely for the carriage of petroleum and petroleum products. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/22446/download.

January 30, 1980