And does this change anything at all with foreign companies owning other yards building ships for the Navy or operating US flag merchant ships and receiving subsidies for doing so?
Is it these foreign entities can do this all better than US corporations or is it simply American companies don’t have access to the necessary capital?
I think it’s that American shipbuilders have grown fat and lazy living on corporate welfare for too long.
They have not needed to innovate or invest in new technologies the way foreign shipyards have.
Old school American shipbuilders need to learn the new arts of modern shipbuilding from foreign companies.
Of course what would be the incentive for Korean or Japanese corporations taking up the US’s offer unless they too get to make the same obscene profits or get direct financial subsidies to come and set up shop in the USA?
If it does end up being the government putting up cash, then expect NASSCO, NNS, Bath, Austal, Marinette and Ingalls will howl how unfair competition against them is being created.
Now, the article specifically mentioned Long Beach and Philadelphia as being ex Navy yards available but the ex Long Beach shipyard is now a container terminal and Philadelphia is occupied by Phillyship. Charleston is occupied by Detyens and Mare Island is really totally inadequate for modern operations and would have a hideous labor shortage to try to operate there and let’s not even discuss the ex Brooklyn yard. The best existing ex yard imo would be Avondale but would it not be better to create brand-new fully modern yards from the gitgo to get maximum productivity and those need to be where there is skilled labor available and suitable real estate.