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Longshoremen at Hanwha Philly Shipyard this week have been unloading fuel tanks<\/a> and other imported equipment from the China-built cargo ship HMM Nabi. They are to be used in ships Hanwha has started building under a law requiring the use of U.S.-built ships on routes connecting U.S. ports.<\/p>\n Nabi, a bulk cargo carrier operated by Korea-based Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM), arrived last weekend at its berth next to where the Schuylkill<\/a> flows into the Delaware River. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had 12 or 13 guys on that pier\u201d each day, starting Monday, to unload the Nabi, said Boise Butler, president of International Longshoremen\u2019s Association Local 1291, which handles cargoes moving through Philadelphia port terminals.<\/p>\n Nabi left the Chinese shipbuilding and ship-equipment manufacturing center of Nansha in April and has since called at other U.S. ports, including Dundalk, Md., before arriving in Philadelphia last weekend, according to shipping records.<\/p>\n \u201cThe HMM Nabi is at Hanwha Philly Shipyard to deliver materials and equipment that will be used in the construction of the second of three new Matson Aloha Class containerships<\/a> currently under construction at the shipyard,\u201d Hanwha spokesman Rob Loveless said. <\/p>\n Hanwha referred questions on the cargo to Matson Navigation Co., which is based in Honolulu. Matson officials had no immediate comment. Industry sources familiar with the shipment confirmed it includes parts made in China and in Korea.<\/p>\n Matson has said it plans to use the ships to connect West Coast ports with terminals on Hawaii and Guam and for its service connecting Los Angeles\u2019 Long Beach port to China. <\/p>\n Shippers moving cargoes exclusively between U.S. ports are required to use ships assembled in the U.S. and crewed by U.S. merchant marine sailors under the federal Jones Act, designed to protect U.S. shipbuilders from cheaper competition.<\/p>\n The Jones Act, long a target of free-market advocates who oppose U.S. shipbuilding subsidies, was suspended by President Donald Trump in March, <\/a>citing the need for flexibility following the start of the Iran war. <\/p>\n U.S. shipping advocates who support Jones Act protections and shipbuilding subsidies argue that Trump\u2019s plan to rebuild U.S. shipping in competition with high-volume shipyards in China, Korea, and Japan requires Jones Act protections \u2014 at least until U.S. shipbuilding has grown much larger, cutting costs per ship. <\/p>\n Jones Act ships can use foreign engines, tanks and other components and foreign metal, so long as they are assembled in U.S. yards.<\/a> Ships originating in foreign ports can call at multiple U.S. ports without violating the Jones Act.<\/p>\n