I would like it if this thread can get back on topic about supposedly the interest of the White House to see more ships built in the United States which would be absolutely wonderful if it were to happen but what hasn’t been discussed is what the White House would do to facilitate ship owners in placing orders?
Once upon a time we had construction and operation differential subsidies for this purpose but those required funding from the Congress to the Maritime Administration and those did work to an extent even though the US fleet did decline steadily after World War II. Once Ronald Reagan and his Congress eliminated those subsidies we saw a rapid decline in US built and flagged merchant ships in foreign commerce and they nearly became extinct until the maritime security program was enacted to prevent the complete death of a US flag foreign trading merchant fleet however the MSP did nothing to help with saving merchant ships being built in the United States for any thing other than Jones Act trades.
So if the desire is to start having merchant ships built in American shipyards for foreign trading how is this going to be effective without Congress reestablishing direct subsidies? Certainly one way would be to put a tariff on any foreign ship calling in the US port or to give the ship owners who do build foreign going merchant ships in the United States taxation incentives such as more rapid depreciation and or a reduction in any income tax the ship owners would pay on profits those ships made. There still would be a cost but it would not be a direct cost requiring Congress to fund subsidizing building new ships in the US. Shippers of export cargos could certainly be given tax incentives to using US flagged ships or quotas could be enacted to mandate a certain percentage of cargoes must come and go on American bottoms. No matter what though none of this can be done without legislation being passed by Congress so just having an office of shipbuilding in the White House doesn’t go very far or have any power to make changes to the status quo.
In very simple terms show me the money and then I’ll believe but if there’s no money then there’s no honey
December 19, 2024, Sens. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., and Todd Young, R-Ind., and Reps. Trent Kelly, R-Miss., and John Garamendi, D-Calif., introduced the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) Bill S. 5611.
Dec 19, 2024
118th Congress (2023–2025)
Status
Died in a previous Congress
This bill was introduced on December 19, 2024, in a previous session of Congress, but it did not receive a vote.
Although this bill was not enacted, its provisions could have become law by being included in another bill. It is common for legislative text to be introduced concurrently in multiple bills (called companion bills), re-introduced in subsequent sessions of Congress in new bills, or added to larger bills (sometimes called omnibus bills).
So for now, fahgettaboutit
If I remember correctly there was a provision in the SHIPS Act, obviously separate from this office of shipbuilding pipe dream, that allowed owners to flag in foreign built ships if they had orders for JA compliant ships. My understanding was they could run the foreign vessels until new builds were completed.
The act hasn’t been reintroduced yet, correct? Also for the record, as reported by John Konrad, the office has been relocated to an already existing office.
So if the Congressional leadership wouldn’t bring the bill up for a vote in the last Congress, what makes anybody believe they’re going to be willing to do it now?
I guess this new office of shipbuilding is supposed to get ship owners to place orders in the United States for new merchant ships because this administration is so nice and accommodating and oozing charm out of every pore.
Like I said previously…if there’s no money then there’s no honey. Nobody will order a newbuild from US yard at 3x what they would pay in Asia.
The SHIPS bill was bipartisan, 2 republican and 2 senators sponsored it. It died. There has been no other bill suggested by the current administration or proposed by congress to revitalize US shipping yet. Trump can say he is going to build more ships just like he said he’s going to build 40 icebreakers but so far no action, unfortunately.
Should the SHIPS Act become law then it would go a very long way to adding ships and mariners the US flagged fleet and enhance the construction of merchant ships in our nation BUT that would require funding from the Congress which is where it all comes to a screeching halt. For money wasted on just one LCS the US fleet under MSA could have been trebled but instead we got useless vessels which cannot be given away.
So, until we have a Congress with spending priorities which actually make sense when comes to maritime security we are going to get exactly what we’ve gotten up to now which is a dumptruck load.
Well turns out Hyundai is prepared to build a huge new steel plant in Louisiana…easy enough to use some of all that steel for ship construction in the same area which could also be owned and managed by Hyundai since they’re close to the world’s premiere shipbuilder already and have all the know-how to do it right from the git-go
Isn’t most of the larger shipyards actively operating in the US owned by foreign companies that has proven abilities to built ships and offshore units of different types?
