A year after the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security (SHIPS) for America Act bill was introduced, a discussion at the Maritime Breakfast at the 2025 International WorkBoat Show focused on how the industry can revive itself and stake a claim globally.
Moderated by Guillermo Calderon Martinez, manager of business development North America, American Bureau of Shipping, the panel included (Ret.) U.S. Navy rear admiral Thomas Anderson, who is president of U.S. Shipbuilding, Hanwha Defense, Justin Slater, vice president of business development at Fincantieri Marine Group, and Erik Derecktor, commercial manager at Derecktor Shipyards.
All the panelists agreed that the U.S. is not currently considered among the major players in international shipbuilding like South Korea, China, and Japan. Domestic shipbuilders, however, are seeing positive signs from key places like Washington, D.C., where there seems to be bipartisan support for the industry.
“The focus on U.S. shipbuilding at all levels is encouraging,” said Anderson, who served in the Navy for 34 years. “We’ve started to understand that shipbuilding is seen positively on both sides of the aisle. Countries like China, (South) Korea, and Finland have a maritime ethos. I would love to see that type of ethos in the United States.”
In a move that’s being watched closely, last November, the U.S. and South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding to allow the Asian country to build attack submarines, with the U.S. agreeing to cooperate on fuel sourcing and other technical requirements. The partnership is part of a broader security agreement to enhance deterrence against North Korea. The move also opens the door for discussions about how the U.S. can work with other partner countries, such as Finland, to build specialized vessels like icebreakers.
All of the panelists noted that U.S. yards must get more efficient if they want to compete globally. At the Hanwha yard in Philadelphia, the company has made significant financial investments, and the initial focus is on improving efficiency. “Efficient training of the workforce, technology, using automation and robotics throughout the construction of the ship, using AI in the assessment of planning and scheduling products, and real-time monitoring of the processes are all long-term goals,” said Anderson.
One way to improve efficiency in the construction of military vessels is to use vessel construction management instead of government oversight. “Instead of having the heavy level of oversight and oversee construction, we’re using more streamlined processes in Philadelphia to get ships built more effectively,” said Anderson. Hanwha is also working on distributed or separated shipyards where a primary contractor relies on smaller yards to do modular manufacturing.
Fincantieri Marine Group analyzed two identical service operation vessels for offshore wind farm support, one built at its yard in the U.S. and one at a cousin facility overseas. “The European vessel was built for less than the materials cost of the boat built in the U.S.,” said Slater. “Either it’s shipyard or outsourced labor, or the equipment and paint costs less in Europe, but we need to do something to attack the cost of shipbuilding in the U.S.”
Attracting and retaining workforce is an ongoing challenge for yards as well. “There has been a decline from the peak in the 1980s,” said Derecktor. “We need to attract new talent and retain talent and give people a reason to stay.”
One hurdle is the age-old argument between improving technology and workers fearing losing their jobs. Shipbuilders explain that automation shouldn’t be seen as an opponent, but as an opportunity for a worker to learn a new skill.
“At our yard in Mamaroneck, N.Y., we had an old manual lathe that we used to do shaft work,” said Derecktor. “One machinist who worked there for 60 years was the only one who could use it.”
He continued, “We leveraged a small-shipyard grant to purchase a CNC (computer numerically controlled) lathe, and we had a welder who had CNC training.”
They put the two lathes side-by-side and cross-trained employees on both, broadening their skillsets. “You can help workers learn another skill to keep them engaged,” said Derecktor.
To reach the volume that domestic shipbuilders hope to achieve, they need raw materials. Supply chain issues continue to be an uphill fight. “Right now, we don’t have scale across our industry. Scale is the first step,” said Derecktor. His company owns a mix of larger and smaller yards and looks for ways for locations to partner in purchasing to lower costs and improve consistency.
Slater said that standardization helps improve efficiency in manufacturing and purchasing. Many shipbuilders do custom work, but if they can standardize and order the materials for three of the same ships coming down the line, it saves time and money.
Anderson said the Maritime Industrial Base Program can help with supply chain and workforce improvements. It includes more than 800 supplier initiatives across 38 states with incentives that encourage them to work with yards on Navy projects.
“That’s how the rest of the competitive shipbuilding world thinks,” said Anderson. “How many suppliers in this room would like to be part of building 20 ships per year in a single yard?”
