Dorsey Details MarAd Waterway Grants

Inland waterways stakeholders interested in some of the many grant programs the federal government has to offer have a direct source for information: the Maritime Administration’s Inland Waterways Gateway Offices in Paducah, Ky., and St. Louis, Mo.

Chad Dorsey, director of the Paducah office, detailed the offices’ mission and objectives as the Paducah Propeller Club guest speaker March 11.

The offices, among 10 federal gateway offices MarAd operates throughout the United States, cover 23 states, offering information and support. The Paducah office covers the Lower Mississippi River, along with the Ohio, the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS), the Cumberland, the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and others. The St. Louis office covers the Upper Mississippi, Illinois, Missouri and Kaskaskia rivers, as well as portions of the Great Lakes.

“Building and maintaining positive relationships with stakeholders is a key responsibility,” Dorsey said during his presentation.

Dorsey and his St. Louis counterpart, Travis Black, are available to listen to the needs of shipyards, ports, terminals and other river-related businesses and help connect them to grant programs that are a good fit. Among these programs are the Port Infrastructure Development Program, the U.S. Marine Highways Program, the Small Shipyard Grants Program and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Port Security Grants Program, along with others.

“All of these are fantastic for the inland waterways and the local and regional communities here,” Dorsey said.

Dorsey said he can help advise applicants about what makes a successful grant application individually, but it often comes down to crafting an effective, detailed and comprehensive story that demonstrates key funding needs, commitment and project impact.

Dorsey is hopeful that a recent recommitment to maritime transportation needs, included as part of President Donald Trump’s April 2025 executive order titled “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance,” along with last month’s White House release of America’s Maritime Action Plan, could lead to more available funding set aside for related programs. In particular, he mentioned the Small Shipyard Grants Program, where early indications are that $35 million may be made available for the next round of funding, an increase from the past. However, the full notice of funding availability is still under development.

One program popular within the inland waterways community is the Port Infrastructure Development Program, Dorsey said. It is a discretionary grant program designed to help strengthen, modernize and improve the country’s maritime systems and gateway ports. Most recently, a total of $2.25 billion was provided through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act over five years, from 2022 through 2026, with $450 million and any additional appropriation expected to be available in 2026. The FY 2025 PIDP grant awards have not yet been announced. The final notice of funding opportunity for the FY 2026 grants is expected to be announced following the awarding of 2025 funds. Unfunded application stakeholders may request a debrief from the program office.

“These funding programs have the potential for increasing in the near-term thanks to the renewed focus on the maritime industry,” Dorsey said.

Additionally, he added that fiscal year 2026 BUILD grant applications are being evaluated now that the February 24 deadline has passed, with $1.5 billion in funds available from the last year of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Paducah was one of the recipients of a past BUILD grant, which includes a major riverfront reconstruction project that is currently under construction. It includes building a pier for river cruise boats.

The four pillars of the Maritime Action Plan are: rebuilding U.S. shipbuilding capacity and capabilities; reforming workforce education and training; protecting the maritime industrial base; and supporting national security, economic security and individual resilience.

Dorsey said these pillars and the current refocus on American maritime advancements also mean that MarAd and the Inland Waterways Gateway Offices have also been assigned a broader range of responsibilities, with key concentration supporting those four pillars.

For more information about the gateway offices or to contact the Inland Waterways Gateway Offices in Paducah or St. Louis, visit www.maritime.dot.gov/about-us/gateway-offices/gateway-offices.