MARAD invests in 45 small shipyards across 24 states

US Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy has announced that the Maritime Administration is delivering US$ 35.1 million in grants to 45 shipyards across 24 states and the US Virgin Islands, funding critical infrastructure upgrades and workforce development as part of efforts to restore American maritime industrial capacity.

The programme received a 300 percent increase in funding in 2026, attributed to President Trump’s Executive Order on Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance.

The grants support a range of targeted investments across the small shipyard sector. Gulf Marine Repair Corporation in Tampa, Florida, will receive US$ 1,007,678 for training centre equipment, wheel loaders and berth upgrades.

Robert E. Derecktor in Mamaroneck, New York, will receive US$ 1 million for an offshore marine crane.

Carlisle and Bray Hebron Shipyard in Hebron, Kentucky, will receive US$ 991,565 for a floating drydock.

Signet Maritime Corporation in Pascagoula, Mississippi, will receive US$ 387,745 for a plasma cutting table, welding tractors, a crane and a vertical tilt-frame bandsaw.

Safe Boats International in Bremerton, Washington, will receive US$ 321,474 for 17 welding machines to support an aluminium welding and fabrication training programme.

Secretary Duffy described small shipyards as once forming the backbone of American maritime industry and framed the investment as rekindling the country’s proud history of vessel construction.

MARAD Administrator Stephen Carmel highlighted the role of shipyard workers in driving the maritime economy and strengthening national readiness, describing the grants as supporting the Maritime Action Plan and the long-term future of American maritime capability.

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