“This is a Different Maritime Revival” says MarAd's Carmel

Stephen M. Carmel & MarAd are aiming to make this U.S. Maritime Rebuild Stick

For anyone who has spent a career in the U.S. maritime industry, the past two years have been unusual by any metric. Maritime has moved from the far margins of federal policy discussions to center stage, with rebuilding American shipbuilding, the Merchant Marine and the maritime industrial base elevated a national priority. Action to shore up the big ship, military portion of the equation has been rapid and measurable. But beyond the top echelon of defense contractors, many mid- and small-tier yards and suppliers have been left waiting. For the builders and operators of the towboats, tugs, barges, ferries and workboats that populate America’s waterways, however, there is an understandable response: ‘Enough talk. Where is the work?’

Stephen M. Carmel, Administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD), understands the skepticism. He also believes this maritime revival is fundamentally different from its predecessors.

“I think everyone alive has been through at least two, if not more, maritime revivals,” Carmel said, describing previous initiatives that “last until the next appropriation cycle and die. This is a different maritime revival,” he said.

The difference, according to Carmel, starts