MarAd Announces Small Shipyard Grant Availability

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MarAd) has officially announced close to $20 million in funding for its Small Shipyard Grant Program. The grant program, first funded in 2008, has since awarded 323 grants for a total of about $282 million. Eligible shipyards are those that employ fewer than 1,200 production personnel.

“Small shipyards play vital roles in their local economies and our national economy,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “With these funds, we are helping small shipyards across the country train their workers, modernize their equipment and improve their operations.”

The $20 million set aside in the $1.7 trillion funding package signed into law December 29, 2022, is consistent with grants awarded in fiscal year 2022. Last year’s grants, announced July 21, 2022, went to 24 shipyards in 19 states. According to the stipulations of the program, grants can cover up to a maximum of 75 percent of a project’s cost, and eligible projects include capital improvements and training or workforce development programs.

“Small shipyards are essential to the U.S. maritime industry and critical to ensuring that we have a resilient industrial base,” Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips said. “These shipyards are an economic pillar, strengthening our maritime industry and the communities along and near our nation’s ports and waterways and employing thousands of Americans, who ensure the nation maintains expertise and skills critical to our economic and national security.”

Small Shipyard Grant applications are due February 27 by 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. More information is available at maritime.dot.gov (search “Small Shipyard Grants”) or by contacting David Heller, MarAd associate administrator for business and finance development, at david.heller@dot.gov.