South Korean shipbuilding giant Hanwha Ocean is receiving a surge of visit requests following its acquisition of the Philadelphia Shipyard, the first U.S. shipyard purchased by a South Korean company. Interest has grown particularly since U.S. President Donald Trump took office, with renewed attention on possible revisions to the Jones Act and the Byrnes-Tollefson Amendment—two longstanding U.S. laws that restrict foreign involvement in defense and maritime shipping.
The Jones Act, enacted in 1920 to strengthen U.S. national security, mandates that vessels operating between U.S. coastal ports must be built domestically. The Byrnes-Tollefson Amendment, introduced in the 1960s, prohibits U.S. military vessels and major components from being built in foreign shipyards.
According to industry sources, Hanwha Ocean has been fielding frequent visit requests from Korean government officials and lawmakers, driven by growing expectations for expanded shipbuilding cooperation between South Korea and the U.S.
In February, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Un-ju visited the Philadelphia site as part of an economic delegation arranged by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. She later disclosed the visit through interviews and social media, sharing photos taken inside the shipyard—despite general restrictions on photography at such facilities due to international security protocols.
Lee shared photos of cranes and docked ships, referring to it as “the Philadelphia shipyard acquired by Hanwha Ocean.” She said it is meaningful that a Korean company now owns a U.S. shipyard. “It’s not a big yard—it feels like something from the 1980s,” she said. “Right now, they build just one ship a year, but with Hanwha’s upgrades, they could make up to 10.”
Since the acquisition late last year, Hanwha Ocean has been working to modernize the facility and boost productivity. However, the steady stream of visitors has become burdensome for the small Korean team on-site, which consists of fewer than 10 employees out of a workforce of around 1,700. The yard currently builds ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard and is undergoing upgrades, including the installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems.
An industry insider noted, “The Hanwha Philly Shipyard operates separately from Hanwha’s domestic business, so these visit requests from Korean institutions can be difficult to accommodate.”
