The White House Releases its Long-Awaited Maritime Action Plan

Blank Rome Government Relations February 19, 2026

The White House released America’s Maritime Action Plan (“MAP” or “Plan”) on February 13, 2026, a comprehensive national strategy to rebuild and expand the nation’s maritime strength. The MAP was called for by President Trump’s Executive Order, issued on April 9, 2025, which aims to Restore America’s Maritime Dominance. Highlighting the decline of American-flag shipping and dearth of shipbuilding and maintenance capabilities, the MAP is the most ambitious attempt to revitalize the U.S. maritime sector since the Merchant Marine Act of 1936.

The MAP identifies major gaps in domestic shipbuilding, a diminished U.S.-flagged fleet, and an eroded maritime workforce as core national security and economic vulnerabilities. Specifically, the Plan establishes a government-wide effort to restore shipbuilding capacity, modernize maritime education and training, and strengthen the Maritime Industrial Base (“MIB”) by coordinating actions among the Departments of Defense, Transportation, Commerce, and Labor, as well as national security agencies.

The MAP structures its recommendations around four key pillars:

I. Rebuilding U.S. shipyard capacity;

II. Reforming and expanding maritime workforce training;

III. Strengthening trade policy, regulatory systems, and federal procurement to support U.S. shipbuilders; and

IV. Enhancing national security through a larger U.S.-flagged commercial fleet, more resilient industrial base, and expanded use of autonomous maritime technologies.

The Plan calls for actions such as incentivizing investment in U.S. shipyards, improving procurement processes, establishing Maritime Prosperity Zones, expanding mariner credentialing programs, creating a new Strategic Commercial Fleet, strengthening component supply chains, and updating regulations to accommodate emerging maritime technologies.

The Plan also calls for the creation of a Maritime Security Trust Fund to ensure sustained and predictable funding for shipbuilding, workforce development, port infrastructure, and fleet expansion. Taken together, these efforts aim to reverse foreign dominance in global shipbuilding, restore U.S. maritime self‑reliance, and ensure that the United States can defend its naval interests. The MAP ultimately seeks to rebuild national industrial strength and secure maritime supply chains in an increasingly contested global environment.

To achieve these goals, the Plan calls for a “whole-of-government” approach to “restore America’s maritime dominance,” including a combination of deregulatory actions, regulatory updates, and legislative efforts. The Plan states that the Trump administration intends to transmit many of these proposals as a legislative package following the publication of the president’s Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2027 budget request.

Additionally, the MAP recognizes that Congress has already issued related legislation in the 119^th Congress, including the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security for America Act of 2025 (“SHIPS for America Act” or “SHIPS Act”) (S. 1541/H.R. 315), and the Building Ships in America Act of 2025 (S. 1536)—sweeping bipartisan and bicameral legislation to revitalize the maritime sector and incentivize U.S. shipbuilding that was reintroduced in Congress in April 2025. However, these bills have been slow-moving in Congress. To date, Congress has held only one hearing on the legislation, conducted by the Senate Commerce Committee on October 28, 2025.

The SHIPS for America Act and Building Ships in America Act are consistent with many of the provisions and aims outlined in the MAP with some key differences. Several of the Plan’s core proposals (listed below) share similarities with only minor changes to provisions included in the SHIPS Act legislation. If enacted, these actions would fundamentally alter the economics of American shipbuilding and reconstitute the maritime industrial base.

Impose a Universal Fee on Foreign-Built Vessels from any Nation Entering U.S. Ports: This proposal would impose a fee on every foreign-built vessel entering a U.S. port, assessed by the weight of imported tonnage arriving on the vessel. A fee of 1 cent per kilogram on foreign-built ships could generate roughly $66 billion in revenue over ten years and a fee of 25 cents per kilogram would yield close to $1.5 trillion in revenue, which could fund a new Maritime Security Trust Fund. This would provide a dedicated and mandatory funding stream that American shipbuilding has never had and that is not reliant on an uncertain annual appropriations process. (Page 6) This is one of the more controversial provisions of the MAP. The SHIPS Act includes similar provisions to establish foreign-built vessel fees and a Maritime Security Trust Fund.
Establish Maritime Prosperity Zones (“MPZs”): This proposal would establish 100 designated areas across the coasts, Great Lakes, river systems, Alaska, and Hawaii, and the U.S. territories that allow tax-advantaged private investment to flow into shipyards, supply chain companies, workforce training, and manufacturing. MPZs are modeled after the Opportunity Zones (“OZs”) concept from the 2017 tax reform, aiming to incentivize and leverage domestic private capital and allied investment in America’s maritime industries and waterfront communities. (Page 6) A similar provision is included in the SHIPS Act.
Extend the Capital Construction Fund to Shipyard Owners: This proposal would establish a new initiative for shipyards modeled on MARAD’s Capital Construction Fund (“CCF”) program for vessel owners. This would allow shipyards to establish tax-deferred accounts to reinvest earnings into infrastructure improvements, new equipment, or debt payment. With $2.59 billion currently held in vessel-owner funds, extending this tool to shipyards offers a proven model for stimulating long-term investment in critical infrastructure. (Page 5) Similar provisions to extend the Capital Construction Fund are included in the SHIPS Act.
Implement a “Bridge Strategy”: This strategy would involve forging international agreements with allied shipbuilders that would build the first hulls of a multi-vessel contract in their home yards while concurrently making direct capital investments in a U.S. shipyard they have purchased or partnered with to eventually onshore construction. (Page 8) The recent example of an award of four Arctic security cutters to Finland with a companion award of four more cutters to a shipyard in Texas is a clear example of using allies to build U.S.G. ships for the first time.

Other notable proposals in the MAP include the following:

Establish a Maritime Security Trust Fund (“MSTF”): The MAP proposes creating a dedicated, mandatory funding stream for programs that “strengthen the U.S. maritime industry and Merchant Marine.” The Administration’s executive order on Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance directs Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”), in coordination with the Department of Transportation (“DOT”), to deliver a legislative proposal for a reliable funding mechanism to sustain MAP investments in shipbuilding, fleet expansion, industrial base resilience and workforce development. (Page 22)
Impose a Land Port Maintenance Tax (Fee): The proposal would create a funding mechanism for land ports of entry that is equivalent to the existing Harbor Maintenance Tax (“HMT”) for seaports, thereby closing a tax loophole that Canada and Mexico have been using to redirect supply chains away from U.S. ports. Merchandise entering the United States through land ports of entry would be subject to a modest tax (0.125 percent of the value of the merchandise). (Page 16)
Modernize the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy: The Academy’s campus in Kings Point, NY, is suffering from significant deferred maintenance backlogs and requires an urgent modernization effort to ensure it can continue to offer required training and coursework to midshipmen. The MAP proposes that the Secretary of Transportation request funding to address urgent deferred maintenance issues, that essential improvements be made to return the academy to a good state of repair, and that facilities be enhanced to accommodate future growth. (Page 11)
Institute a New United States Maritime Preference Requirement (“USMPR”): As ships are being built in the United States, this proposal would require high-volume exporting economies to transport a gradually increasing percentage of their U.S.-bound containerized cargo on qualifying U.S. vessels. (Page 15)
Create a Strategic Commercial Fleet (“SCF”): The creation of an SCF, consisting of internationally trading U.S.-built vessels, would provide the depth and redundancy required to sustain military logistics around the globe and ensure the continuous flow of goods to the U.S. economy. Vessels in the SCF would receive financial support for both construction and operation, leveling the playing field between the U.S. and subsidized foreign competition. (Page 22)
Enhance U.S. Maritime Presence in the Arctic: This proposal increases the U.S. maritime presence of the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) and U.S. Coast Guard (“USCG”) in the Arctic region and increases polar icebreaking capabilities to enable reliable, continued access. To that end, the Department of State, in consultation with Department of Defense, would engage allies and industry partners to increase their maritime presence in the Arctic region. (Page 24)

Legislation to Follow:

The Plan states that the Trump Administration intends to transmit many of these proposals as a legislative package following the release of the president’s FY 2027 budget request. This may well delay implementation of the SHIPS Act and the Plan itself depending on when the FY 2027 budget is sent to Congress.

Blank Rome Government Relations is monitoring all of these developments and is able to provide guidance to all interested parties.

Contact: Joan Bondareff, David Jansen, Stephen Peranich, Steven Wall, C.J. Zane