Lawmakers Rick Scott (Senator in Florida) and Carlos Gimenez (Representative in Florida) have introduced the Supply Chain Emergency Response Act this week. According to Freightwaves this act would redirect $125 million of unspent money from the CARES Act to help owners of vessels currently anchored off the U.S. West Coast to transit through the Panama Canal, then dock at U.S. Gulf or East Coast ports instead. In a draft of the bill the grant program would cover toll costs associated with rerouting vessels from the U.S. West Coast through the Panama Canal.

Scott and Gimenez also see this legislation as a way to move more container business through Florida ports. “Florida’s ports are ready and able to help with this crisis and I hope all of my colleagues work with us to quickly pass this good and urgently needed bill,” said Scott. With the ports on the U.S. West Coast struggling with congestion, ports in Florida and on the U.S. East Coast have eagerly been pushing for more cargo vessels to reroute from California. “Getting these cargo vessels to Florida and other Eastern states also alleviates the shipping container shortage, which has made it difficult for American producers to ship their goods and products abroad,” stated Gimenez.

According to Freightwaves, if this legislation goes through, in order to receive a grant any eligible vessel owners would have to submit to MarAd documentation that the owner:

• Had an agreement to dock a cargo vessel at a port along the Western Seaboard of the U.S. and intends to reroute such cargo vessel from such port through the Panama Canal to a port along the Gulf of Mexico or the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S.
• Has an agreement to dock such cargo vessel at such port along the Gulf of Mexico or the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.