The respected U.K. maritime research and analyst group Drewry Shipping Consultants said in its Nov. 17, 2013, Container Insight Weekly that the Jones Act is "an increasingly expensive luxury." Drewry also validated Hawaii Shippers Council estimates that U.S. shipbuilding costs are four to five times that for building a comparable ship in South Korea or Japan. The Drewry comments were prompted by the Nov. 6 order placed by Matson with Aker Philadelphia Shipyard for a pair of 3,600-TEU capacity containerships for delivery in 2018 for the astounding price of $209 million each. Drewry said, "Comparable sized vessels could be built in Asia today for less than a fifth of that price."
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