USCMI Included in the Proposed SHIPS for America Act

On April 30, 2025, Senator Mark Kelly, Senator Todd Young, Congressman Trent Kelly, and Congressman John Garamendi reintroduced the SHIPS for America Act. The SHIPS for America Act is a comprehensive approach to revitalizing 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.

Subtitle C: Shipbuilding Innovation and Infrastructure, Section 521: United States Center for Maritime Innovation would establish a national maritime innovation incubator program within the Maritime Administration to advance and accelerate R&D for technologies and manufacturing processes which will support the maritime industrial base. The program would expand the existing United States Center for Maritime Innovation Program by requiring the establishment of incubators to be located in different regions of the country, establish multi-stakeholder partnerships, and specialize in shipbuilding, alternative fuels, shoreside infrastructure, vessel design and naval architecture, and other areas identified as a priority by a Maritime Security Board. $50m would be provided from the Maritime Security Trust Fund for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2035.