WJ Editorial: Brown Water’s Place At The Table
The recently signed One Big Beautiful Bill includes some important maritime provisions that have not gotten as much attention as some other features of it. The bill follows the reintroduction of the SHIPS Act and the president’s executive order, titled “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance.”
The Coast Guard is welcoming the nearly $25 billion investment included in the One Big Beautiful Bill, the largest single commitment of funding in its history. For brown-water folks the question is, how will these measures affect our industries? A lot of people are parsing the OBBB and SHIPS Act to answer that question.
Under one proposal in the SHIPS Act, the Small Shipyard Grant Program, which has been important for many inland shipyards, would have its annual budget increased from $8.75 million to $100 million. The SHIPS Act would establish a block grant program to support the maritime offices within state departments of transportation. It would also create a fund for port operations staffing. These proposals are not yet done deals, and details remain to be negotiated.
The Big Beautiful Bill dedicates $450 million for maritime industrial workforce development programs. That’s not counting $500 million for “adoption of advanced manufacturing techniques in the shipbuilding industrial base,” which will also likely include some workforce training components. It’s not yet known to what extent, if any, the use of artificial intelligence, which is encouraged in these provisions, may mitigate some of this demand.
Much of this will be blue-water focused, and as Americans, we can all support these efforts to revive the blue-water merchant marine. If and when any expanded grant opportunities become available for brown-water companies and/or inland ports, they should be ready to take advantage of them. While these proposals in the SHIPS Act and the maritime provisions in the OBBB are welcome, they could bring challenges as well and will certainly accelerate already urgent demands for a skilled workforce.
