The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (Marad) has awarded $35.18 million to 45 shipyards in 24 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands through the 2026 Small Shipyard Grant Program.
The grants will support equipment purchases, infrastructure improvements and workforce training intended to increase shipyard productivity and expand local employment opportunities.
Awards range from $4,185 for a hoisting-license training initiative at the Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority, Falmouth, Mass., to $1.53 million for projects at Pacific Shipyards International, Honolulu, and Gunderson Marine, Portland, Ore.
“The 300% increase in this program will fund cutting-edge equipment, major facility upgrades, and new training programs for the next generation of maritime workers,” said Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy.
Erika Young, director of the Small Shipyard Grant Coalition, released a statement highlighting the awards’ geographic distribution. Washington received six grants, Oregon received four, and Michigan and Texas each received three, which fell above the previous typical maximum of two awards per state. Vermont, New Jersey, Missouri and Georgia received awards despite historically securing relatively few.
By the numbers
Several of the grants will fund drydocks, vessel-hauling systems and other major shipyard equipment. The 2026 award recipients, project descriptions and grant amounts are as follows:
Alabama
- Blakeley BoatWorks Inc., Mobile — $736,543.78 for an ironworker, CNC machine, 45 welding machines, 20 wire boxes and an air compressor.
- Steiner Construction Co. Inc., Bayou La Batre — $300,988.07 for a hydraulic press brake, semi-automatic band saw, magnetic sheet-handling system and rotary draw bender.
Alaska
- Catalyst Marine Engineering LLC, Seward — $595,545.02 for a 600-ton press brake, 12,000-lb. telehandler, robotic welding cell and mobile welding and power units.
- JAG Alaska Inc., Seward — $1,405,113 to expand its rail system and acquire additional carts and cradles for moving vessels through the shipyard.
California
- Marine Technical Services Inc., doing business as Dockside Machine & Ship Repair, Wilmington — $738,829 for a 38,000-lb. truck crane, 40,000-lb. forklift and welding equipment.
Connecticut
- Mystic Seaport Museum Inc., Mystic — $13,238.75 for a steam generator.
- Thames Shipyard & Repair Co., New London — $323,005 for blasting, dust-collection, compressor and airless-painting equipment.
Florida
- Gulf Marine Repair Corp., Tampa — $1,007,678 for berth utility upgrades, two wheel loaders, a telehandler and equipment for its worker-training center.
Georgia
- Thunderbolt Marine Inc., Savannah — $979,636 for a 150-ton Travelift.
Hawaii
- Marisco Ltd., Kapolei — $1,183,848 for a press brake, tooling and plate roller.
- Pacific Shipyards International LLC, Honolulu — $1,533,815 for a 120-ton telescopic-boom truck crane and welding and plasma-cutting cobot integration.
Indiana
- Corn Island Shipyard Inc., Grandview — $1,174,867 for plasma-cutting, stiffener-welding, material-handling and welding equipment.
Kentucky
- C&B Energy Services LLC, Carlisle & Bray Hebron Shipyard, Hebron — $991,565 for a 60'×70' floating drydock.
- James Marine Inc., Wickliffe — $699,433 for a 65-ton rough-terrain crane and 12,000-lb. telehandler.
Louisiana
- LAD Services of Louisiana LLC, Morgan City — $1,041,329 for a 165-ton crawler crane.
Maryland
- Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Inc., St. Michaels — $41,250 for workforce development focused on supervisory capabilities, safety and operational consistency.
Massachusetts
- Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority, Falmouth — $4,185 for a 1A hoisting-license workforce training initiative.
Michigan
- Champions Auto Ferry Inc., Algonac — $53,500 for a hot tank used to clean diesel engine blocks and heads and a lathe.
- Dean Marine and Excavating Inc., Dearborn — $1 million to restore the full operational capability of its 158' floating drydock.
- North Shore Marine Terminal & Logistics Inc., Escanaba — $898,022 to modernize its floating drydock’s ballast-control system, valves, actuators and electronic tank-level monitoring system.
Mississippi
- Signet Maritime Corp., Pascagoula — $387,745.06 for a CNC plasma-cutting table, bandsaw, welding tractors and pipe-bending equipment.
- United States Marine Inc., Gulfport — $123,071.93 for three forklifts.
Missouri
- Arcosa Marine Products, Nabrico Marine Plant No. 1075, Caruthersville — $911,171.09 to modernize a 600-ton tandem hydraulic press with an adjustable die system and die holder.
New Jersey
- Bayonne Drydock & Repair Corp., Bayonne — $673,123.44 for an integrated ultra-high-pressure hydroblasting and surface-preparation system.
New York
- Robert E. Derecktor Inc., Mamaroneck — $1 million for a 200-ton Seatrax marine crane.
- Shellfish Marine Inc., West Sayville — $659,750 for a 100-ton Marine Travelift.
Oregon
- Fred Wahl Marine Construction Inc., Reedsport — $195,336 for a closed-loop wash-water treatment system and four pressure washers.
- Gunderson Marine LLC, Portland — $1,534,953 for a CNC plasma cutter with a 16' cutting width.
- ReconCraft LLC, Clackamas — $661,981.73 for two 25-ton overhead cranes, 15 MIG welding stations and 10 TIG welding stations.
- Shaver Transportation Co., Portland — $10,400 for marine engine repair training.
Pennsylvania
- HFL 412 Marine Inc., Georgetown Shipyard, Georgetown — $1,081,613 for a 165-ton lattice-boom crawler crane.
South Carolina
- Stevens Towing Co. Inc., Hollywood — $1.5 million for electrical, welding-gas, compressed-air and water utility upgrades and associated infrastructure.
Texas
- Gulf Copper LLC, Galveston — $976,384 for a 120'×14'6" CNC plasma-cutting system.
- MBLH Marine LLC, doing business as Vessel Repair, Port Arthur — $1.5 million for a 100'×65'×28' floating drydock.
- Taylor Marine Construction of Texas LLC, Kemah — $360,343.11 for an industrial winch used to haul barges from the water, a boom lift and a telehandler.
Vermont
- Lake Champlain Transportation Co., Burlington — $999,784 for a 10-ton deck crane and improvements to its marine railway catwalk and mooring slip.
Washington
- Arrow Launch Service Inc., Port Angeles — $750,000 for a 75-ton Travelift.
- Brix Marine Inc., Port Angeles — $1,259,190 for four 10-ton remote-controlled overhead cranes with hoists and runways.
- Delta Marine Industries Inc., Seattle — $1,508,596.93 for a 620-ton Travelift.
- Everett Ship Repair LLC, Everett — $456,216 for electrical upgrades supporting its new 35,000-ton floating drydock and shipyard-process training.
- Rozema Boat Works Inc., Mount Vernon — $938,175.71 for a CNC router table, 230-ton CNC press brake and mechanical shear.
- Safe Boats International LLC, Bremerton — $321,474.38 for an aluminum welding and fabrication training program, including 17 welding machines, eight welding booths and an air-filtration system.
Wisconsin
- Fincantieri Marine Group LLC, Bay Shipbuilding, Sturgeon Bay — $1,273,202 for a CNC profile cutter and 100-ton rough-terrain crane.
- Shipbuilders of Wisconsin Inc., doing business as Burger Boat Co., Manitowoc — $568,720 for a digital engineering system featuring ShipConstructor software, engineering workstations, laptops, tablets and a laser-scanning system.
U.S. Virgin Islands
- Dirty Bottom LLC, Christiansted — $763,401 for a 75-ton variable-width Marine Travelift.
Young said 20 grants were awarded to current or former members of the Small Shipyard Grant Coalition. With Congress considering funding for the program’s next round, she encouraged shipyards to begin identifying projects and collecting application materials early. Young also recommended joining the coalition to support its funding and educational efforts and contacting grant-writing consultants well in advance, as many reached capacity early during the latest application cycle.
