The Department of Homeland Security has waived the Jones Act for the ice-class Russian tanker that will be carrying fuel to Nome in the new year.  

The Jones Act prohibits foreign flagged vessels from carrying cargo between US ports.  The  tanker Renda needed the waiver to be able to pick up several hundred thousand gallons of gasoline in Unalaska for delivery to ice-bound Nome.  Without the delivery by sea, fuel would have to be flown into the community at substantially higher cost.  

The Renda is currently 400 miles away from Attu, in the western Aleutians.  The vessel is expected to arrive in the Port of Dutch Harbor on Tuesday.  

Once here, it will need to pass a Port State inspection in order to be able to continue its journey north. Assuming it does, the Coast Guard icebreaker Healy will lead the ship through the sea ice.