Overview
- More than 40% of California’s gasoline imports in November moved via the Bahamas, according to Vortexa data reported by Bloomberg.
- California sourced more barrels from the Bahamas in 2025 than in the prior nine years combined, and two Bahamian-loaded tankers have already arrived in 2026 as imports eased from a January peak.
- The workaround skirts Jones Act rules that require scarce and expensive U.S.-built, U.S.-crewed tankers, with only about 55 such ships available compared with thousands of foreign vessels.
- Routing through Freeport typically adds 5,000–6,000 nautical miles and two to three weeks, increasing shipping, storage and handling costs that filter into pump prices.
- Freight shifts have narrowed the foreign-vs.-U.S.-flagged cost gap from nearly $4 per barrel to about $1, while refinery closures in Los Angeles and a pending Benicia shutdown have tightened supply as AAA shows a 40-cent, two-week jump to $4.58 a gallon.