SHIPS for America Act – Bellwether of What’s to Come?
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Support for American maritime transcends party lines; National revitalization and war preparedness emphasized
On December 19, 2024, the bipartisan Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act was introduced by senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Todd Young (R-IN) and representatives John Garamendi (D-CA-8) and Trent Kelly (R-MS-1) to Congress. The SHIPS for America Act—the name of which may invoke the 2020 CHIPS for America Act meant to boost domestic microchip manufacturing—aims to revitalize shipbuilding and commercial maritime industries of the United States. The act earned public endorsement from dozens of key industry voices.
A topline takeaway from the introduced legislation is from Section 401: Strategic Commercial Fleet. This entirely new program of the same name includes an initial development and establishment of 250 new US-flagged vessels for international commerce.
“This historic bipartisan proposal would restore American leadership across the oceans by establishing national oversight and consistent funding for U.S. maritime policy, incentivizing domestic shipbuilding, enabling U.S.-flagged vessels to better compete in international commerce, rebuilding the U.S. shipyard industrial base, and expanding the mariner and shipyard workforce,” stated a press release from senator Kelly. Notably, Senator Kelly is a US Navy veteran and the first US Marchant Marine Academy graduate to serve in Congress.
The details of the introduced act and explicit comments from its supporters indicate that competition with Chinese maritime is a primary motivation. According to the American Maritime Officers union at the time of this writing, the number of US-flagged vessels in international commerce is around 80 while Chinese flags fly from around 5,500 working international vessels—a ratio of about 1:68.
“We’ve always been a maritime nation, but the truth is we’ve lost ground to China, who now dominates international shipping and can build merchant and military ships much more quickly than we can,” continued Senator Kelly in the press release. “The SHIPS for America Act is the answer to this challenge. By supporting shipbuilding, shipping, and workforce development, it will strengthen supply chains, reduce our reliance on foreign vessels, put Americans to work in good-paying jobs, and support the Navy and Coast Guard’s shipbuilding needs. I’m excited to introduce this comprehensive, fully paid for legislation today alongside my Republican and Democratic colleagues and our partners representing all parts of the industry, and together we’re going to work to get this effort across the finish line.”
One should recall the longtime provisions of the Jones Act to contextualize the SHIPS for America Act. Broadly speaking, the Jones Act rules that all intracoastal maritime operations must be conducted with American made ships with American materials manned by American crew and flying American flags. But the Jones Act does not apply to intercoastal maritime between the US and foreign ports. Bottom line, every tugboat working on the Mississippi River is a Jones Act boat but the large shipping container vessels rolling into the Port of Los Angeles from across the Pacific Ocean are not.
Among the many prongs of the SHIPS for America Act are Jones Act-like provisions, such as Section 415: Importation from China on American Ships. The section establishes a commercial cargo preference that within 15 years 10% of all cargo imported into the United States from the People’s Republic of China be aboard U.S.-flagged vessels.
Senator Kelly’s republican counterpart Senator Young added, “America has been a maritime nation since our founding, and seapower was a significant contributor to our rise to being the most powerful nation on earth. Unfortunately, the bottom line now is America needs more ships. Shipbuilding is a national security priority and a stopgap against foreign threats and coercion. Our bill will revitalize the U.S. maritime industry, grow our shipbuilding capacity, rebuild America’s shipyard industrial base, and support nationwide workforce development in this industry. This legislation is critical to our warfighting capabilities and keeping pace with China.”
Time will tell if the SHIPS for America Act passes with the new Congress, but the bipartisan nature of the act bodes well for its fate. The United States is a seagoing nation and commonsense efforts to revitalize our neglected intercoastal maritime sector is vital to our future. Such legislation is likely to prove popular with constituents. Policymakers working together to peacefully fly the stars and stripes over the waves is what many of us seagoing types would like to see more often.
