Bipartisan SHIPS for America Act reintroduced to boost American Shipbuilding

U.S. Senator Mark Kelly led an effort to jump-start shipbuilding across the country and counter China’s maritime dominance.

The bipartisan bill in question, dubbed the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act, was first introduced on December 19 to revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding and commercial maritime industries.

The Senator calls for a national shipbuilding aid to counter the Chinese maritime dominance, mentioning in parallel that all efforts will be made to make the country competitive by passing the SHIPS for America Act.

“There are currently 80 U.S.-flagged vessels in international commerce while China has 5,500,” Kelly said at an April 30 news conference, adding that the national goal is to expand the U.S.-flag international fleet by 250 ships in 10 years.

On the other hand, the People’s Republic of China has made investments in the maritime industry a strategic priority over the past 20 years.

It became the world’s top shipbuilding and shipping nation, with more shipbuilding capacity than the United States.

Supported by Senator Todd Young (R-IN), Representative John Garamendi (D-CA-8), and Representative Trent Kelly (R-MS-1), Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) re-introduced the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act, a comprehensive legislation to revitalize the United States shipbuilding and commercial maritime industries.

Other cosponsors in the Senate include Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Senator John Fetterman (D-PA).

The SHIPS for America Act aims to boost the U.S. Merchant Marine by establishing national oversight and consistent funding for U.S. maritime policy, making U.S.-flagged vessels commercially competitive in international commerce by cutting red tape, rebuilding the U.S. shipyard industrial base, and expanding and strengthening mariner and shipyard worker recruitment, training, and retention.

“After decades of dangerously neglecting our shipbuilding industry, we’re finally doing something about it. The SHIPS for America Act is the most ambitious effort in a generation to revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding and commercial maritime industries and counter China’s dominance over the oceans,” said Senator Kelly, a U.S. Navy veteran and the first U.S Merchant Marine Academy graduate to serve in Congress.

The SHIPS for America Act would create the position of a maritime security advisor within the White House, who would lead an interagency Maritime Security Board tasked with making whole-of-government strategic decisions for how to implement a National Maritime Strategy.

The bill also establishes a Maritime Security Trust Fund that would reinvest duties and fees paid by the maritime industry into maritime security programs and infrastructure supporting maritime commerce.

It will establish a national goal of expanding the U.S.-flag international fleet by 250 ships in 10 years by creating the Strategic Commercial Fleet Program, which would facilitate the development of a fleet of commercially operated, U.S.-flagged, American crewed, and domestically built merchant vessels that can operate competitively in international commerce.

The SHIPS for America Act would enhance the competitiveness of U.S.-flagged vessels in international commerce, U.S. Senator Mark Kelly said, by establishing a Rulemaking Committee on Commercial Maritime Regulations and Standards to cut through the U.S. Coast Guard’s bureaucracy and red tape that limits the international competitiveness of U.S.-flagged vessels, modify duties to make cargo on U.S.-flagged vessels more competitive, requiring that government-funded cargo move aboard U.S.-flagged vessels, and requiring a portion of commercial goods imported from China to move aboard U.S.-flagged vessels starting in 2030.

According to Mark Kelly, it will expand the U.S. shipyard industrial base, for both military and commercial oceangoing vessels, by establishing a 25% investment tax credit for shipyard investments, transforming the Title XI Federal Ship Financing Program into a revolving fund, and establishing a Shipbuilding Financial Incentives program to support innovative approaches to domestic ship building and ship repair.

The SHIPS for America Act would also establish the U.S. Center for Maritime Innovation and Maritime Prosperity Zone program to accelerate U.S. leadership in next-generation ship design, manufacturing processes, and ship energy systems and to support regional hubs for maritime innovation across the country.

Meanwhile, it will make investments in maritime workforce by supporting a Maritime Workforce Promotion and Recruitment Campaign, allowing mariners to retain their credentials through a newly established Merchant Marine Career Retention Program, investing in long-overdue infrastructure needs for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and supporting State Maritime Academies and Centers for Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education.

The bill also makes long-overdue changes to streamline and modernize the U.S. Coast Guard’s Merchant Mariner Credentialing system, Kelly said.

The legislation will be introduced in two pieces in the Senate, the SHIPS for America Act and the Building SHIPS in America Act.

“Building and staffing more U.S.-flagged ships will create good-paying American jobs, make our supply chains more resilient, lower costs, and strengthen our ability to resupply our military at times of war. We’ll keep working with our colleagues in Congress, this administration, and our partners in the industry to make our country safer and competitive by passing the SHIPS for America Act,” U.S. Senator Mark Kelly added.