MarAd Administrator Reflects On Her Tenure
On January 12, Maritime Administrator Ann C. Phillips, a rear admiral of the U.S. Navy (ret.), departed the Maritime Administration (MarAd) ahead of the inauguration of a new Trump administration. Charles Makings, deputy maritime administrator, assumed duties as acting maritime administrator.
Phillips, who was sworn in as MarAd’s 20th administrator on May 16, 2022, guided a team of nearly 900 employees. In addition to prioritizing safety at sea for mariner cadets and addressing quality of life and recruitment and retention challenges for all mariners, she worked to expand facilities and capital improvement funding and capacity at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), grew the U.S. flag fleet and upheld the Jones Act, acquired vessels to modernize the Ready Reserve Fleet and oversaw historic grants to ports and small shipyards, made possible by the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“It has been the honor of my life to represent and advocate for the vital work MarAd performs to strengthen our national defense and our economic competitiveness,” Phillips said. “MarAd’s work to foster, promote and develop the maritime sector is essential to our nation’s success—and I know the extraordinary professionals who work on behalf of MarAd and with U.S. flag carriers, operators, maritime labor and the entire maritime industry will continue to meet the sector’s evolving challenges with their unmatched expertise and professionalism, as they always have.”
Phillips’ tenure was known for her creation and implementation of the Every Mariner Builds A Respectful Culture (EMBARC) Program, codified into law in 2023. This program set standards to help prevent and respond to sexual assault and sexual harassment on U.S. flag vessels that are required by law to carry USMMA cadets. Since the program’s introduction, 22 U.S.-flag commercial carriers have adopted these standards, including 16 carriers and operators required to do so by law, as well as six additional carriers that have voluntarily enrolled.
During her tenure, Phillips also worked to address long-standing challenges at the USMMA. In recent years, Congress has appropriated more than $200 million in funding to address decades of deferred maintenance and infrastructure improvement needs at the USMMA.
Phillips also oversaw the release of the Mariner Workforce Strategic Plan for the years 2023 to 2027, a first-of-its-kind strategy focused on strengthening the recruitment, training and retention of merchant mariners, including by eliminating long-standing barriers to recruitment. She expanded the designation of community and technical colleges and non-profit training centers under the Centers of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education Program, recognizing institutions that collectively matriculate more than 21,000 students annually with the certifications and credentials they need to enter and progress in the maritime industry.
During her tenure, Phillips took delivery of the Empire State (NSMV 1) in 2023 for service with the State University of New York Maritime College and the Patriot State (NSMV 2) in 2024 for service with the Massachusetts Maritime College. Accommodating up to 600 cadets plus crew, the Empire State and Patriot State are the first-ever purpose-built mariner training vessels in the history of the United States and will also provide a substantial maritime platform to support federal humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
Working closely with leaders in the Department of Defense, ocean carriers and maritime labor, Phillips also helped navigate the challenges of contested environments in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Mediterranean Sea.
During her tenure leading MarAd, Phillips oversaw the award of more than $2 billion in grants through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and appropriated funding, including grants awarded through the Port Infrastructure Development Program, the United States Marine Highway Program and the Small Shipyard Grant Program. In addition, MarAd administered $1.8 billion in port infrastructure investments through the Department of Transportation’s discretionary grant programs. She also advanced development and pilot testing of a first-ever near-miss reporting system for the maritime industry, the Safe Maritime Transportation System (SafeMTS).
“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, MarAd’s work across the full range of its statutory missions [helped] fuel extraordinary momentum in the maritime industry,” Phillips said. “I know this industry will continue to deliver for our nation, whenever and wherever they are needed.”
