California Relies on Bahamas Route for Gasoline Imports

California is increasingly relying on an unconventional shipping route through the Bahamas to import gasoline, a development driven by recent refinery closures and constraints on domestic maritime transport. The state's average price for regular gasoline has climbed to $4.59 per gallon, compared with the national average of $2.92, according to data from the American Automobile Association. This surge, up about 40 cents from last month, underscores the pressures on California's energy supply as local refining capacity diminishes.

The detour begins with gasoline refined along the U.S. Gulf Coast being shipped to Freeport in the Bahamas. From there, it is reloaded onto foreign-flagged vessels for delivery to California ports, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. This maneuver circumvents the Jones Act, a 1920 federal law that mandates goods transported between U.S. ports use American-built, owned, and operated ships. With only about 55 such compliant oil tankers available worldwide, compared to over 7,000 global options, direct domestic shipments have become scarce and costly. The longer route, often involving the Panama Canal and spanning thousands of miles, adds significant...