Tanker Security Program
Key claim: The Maritime Administration finalizes the Tanker Security Program rule, establishing a fleet of privately owned U.S. product tank vessels to support national defense, security requirements, and U.S. presence in international commercial shipping.
Abstract
(Rule · Transportation Department, Maritime Administration) This final rule implements the Tanker Security Program (TSP) and makes certain changes to the TSP interim final rule (IFR) published in the Federal Register on December 7, 2022, in response to public comments received on the IFR, feedback from stakeholders, and MARAD’s own experience during initial program administration. The Secretary of Transportation is authorized to establish TSP, comprised of a fleet of active, commercially viable, militarily useful, privately owned product tank vessels of the United States. The TSP Fleet is intended to meet national defense and other security requirements and maintain a United States presence in international commercial shipping. TSP supports the United States maritime industries and workforce to promote national security and economic resilience.
Why this matters
The Tanker Security Program secures a U.S.-flagged commercial tanker fleet available to the Department of Defense, affecting the competitive landscape for U.S. product tanker operators and reinforcing domestic maritime capacity in international trade lanes. For importers and exporters relying on product tanker capacity, the program shapes vessel availability and pricing dynamics on U.S.-flag routes; consumer price effects are indirect but flow through fuel and refined-product logistics costs.