Operators in the US Jones Act are waiting to see the results of a federal government study requested by the lone federal lawmaker from Puerto Rico, the US-controlled island whose trade with the mainland requires vessels compliant with the cabotage law.

The findings could lead Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi, who holds a non-voting seat in the US House of Representatives, to push Washington to give the island relief from restrictions of the act, which requires cargoships travelling between domestic ports to be US-built, US-crewed and US-owned.

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