A Chinese ship in Baltimore is unloading asphalt — and outraging American mariners

A 479-foot ship snaked its way through a canal bound for Baltimore on Monday afternoon. It carried asphalt, sailed under a Chinese flag and ignited a heated national debate on maritime policy.

As a foreign vessel, the Jin Zhou Wan would not ordinarily be able to legally transport goods between U.S. ports. But it transited from New Jersey and unloaded within the Port of Baltimore on Tuesday due to a rare legal exemption.

The Jones Act, a weighty, century-old federal statute, mandates that vessels transporting goods within U.S. cities must be American-built, -owned and -staffed (as opposed to ships with international flags and crews). Many mariners say the law is the bedrock of the American maritime industry; without it, enterprising shippers would turn to cheaper, foreign vessels.

But President Donald Trump waived the act earlier this year. It’s currently in its longest, broadest suspension since at least 1950.

He did so in a stated effort to combat fuel prices, which have spiked since the U.S. and Iran war began in February. “National defense” is cited as a reason for the waiver.

Halting the Jones Act is a lever sometimes pulled by presidents amid emergencies to relieve high energy prices — and the public pressures that come with it.

During the monthlong suspension, over 100 foreign vessels have sailed within U.S. waters, primarily carrying fuel. But the Jin Zhou Wan is unique because it is carrying asphalt, not oil or gas, and because it is owned by the Chinese government via industry giant COSCO Shipping.

China dominating American waterways could present a national security issue, some observers say. Trump himself levied a tax on Chinese ships calling at U.S. ports last year.

The Jones Act was passed in 1920, in part, to rebuild U.S. shipping after World War I, and most countries have similar laws. Opponents of the act argue it artificially inflates costs and stifles free trade, but supporters say it protects national security and domestic jobs.

“It’s such a hit,” James Bast, port agent of Baltimore for the Seafarers International Union, said of the waiver. “The Jones Act is really the backbone of the U.S. maritime industry.”

When the act is suspended, Bast said, businesses capitalize by contracting with foreign ships. Because American vessels are held to higher standards and employ higher-paid crew members, they are much more expensive to operate.

The act has now been suspended for 104 days. Bast said that’s “injected uncertainty” into the industry.

Jones Act proponents argue that transporting asphalt, as opposed to fuel, is a commercial shipment and does not obey the spirit of the suspension. The Jin Zhou Wan delivered asphalt to Connecticut a month ago, sparking controversy at the time.

“What the hell does this [asphalt] have to do with the Jones Act waiver and the intent of what that waiver was initially for?” Bast said Monday.

The waiver is broad, though, listing hundreds and hundreds of materials — including asphalt.

The American Maritime Partnership has advocated for the swift end to the waiver, saying it has increased “Chinese influence in domestic commerce” and has not lowered gas prices. The group’s president, Jennifer Carpenter, said in a statement that the “Chinese-owned, Chinese-operated and Chinese-crewed vessel carrying asphalt” is not “meeting an immediate military emergency.”

But the lengthy waiver has been welcomed by advocates of free trade, who have long pushed for the act’s dissolution.

That includes Colin Grabow of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington. Grabow has published commentaries on the topic with titles like, “Adam Smith Would Oppose the Jones Act,” and co-authored the book, “The Case Against the Jones Act.”

The Jones Act hurts American businesses, he said in an email to The Banner, because consumers can more affordably purchase goods abroad than pay the high fees to ship domestically. Repealing the act would lower domestic shipping costs, he said, and make it “easier for Americans to buy American products from other Americans.”

“Allowing Americans to utilize international vessels for their transportation needs does represent free trade and economic freedom,“ he said.