Cleveland’s MarineLINE completes first Jones Act application on ATB barge conversion

The MAM 141 (formerly the Double Skin 141) is a double-hulled Articulated Tug Barge (ATB) with a liquid cargo capacity of 137,500 barrels (bbl). It has a deadweight tonnage (DWT) of approximately 21,940 tonnes. (Image Credit: Advanced Polymer Coatings)

By Advanced Polymer Coatings. Ohio headquartered manufacturer Advanced Polymer Coatings (APC) has completed the first ever application of its MarineLINE coating system on a Jones Act vessel in a US yard. The project was further the first conversion of an ATB petroleum barge to a chemical barge in the United States including a fully redesigned […]

Florida AI Developer Says Its Platform Can Save Shipyards from Aging Workforce ‘Cliff Edge’

New Kort Nozzle installation, photo provided by USMMA Intern James Dunagan, Class of 2025

By Dolgo. Dolgo, a new maritime tech start-up spun out of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ocean Enterprise Accelerator, today announced the development of a new AI software platform to transform shipyard skills training. Tampa, Florida based Dolgo says the software will retain expertise presently being lost as large numbers of workers retire from the […]

Drone shipbuilder plans to hire 1,500 for its St. Mary Parish facility

By Greg LaRose, Louisiana Illuminator. Just months after it acquired a St. Mary Parish shipyard, a Texas company plans to increase the number of drone vessels it will build there and intends to hire 1,500 employees for the additional work, Louisiana Economic Development officials announced Wednesday. Austin-based Saronic Technologies will spend $300 million at its […]

Colonna’s Shipyard Recognizes 2025 Apprentice Graduates

Colonna’s Shipyard Inc. honored its 2024 Apprentice Graduates in September, recognizing their completion of over 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and 576 hours of technical instruction. [Pictured from left to right]: Jason McManes, Charles Mooring, Montrez Frost, and Steven Mitchell

By Colonna’s Shipyard Inc.  NORFOLK, VA — OCT. 1, 2025 – Colonna’s Shipyard Inc. proudly recognized four Apprentice Graduates in September. Graduates of Colonna’s Apprenticeship embody the company’s values of Respect, Pride, Truth, and Family and have completed more than 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and 576 hours of related technical instruction. “These graduate apprentices […]

VOGEL: Want More Ships? Fix How Washington Builds Them

By Jeff Vogel, TOTE Services. President Donald Trump’s call for new investment in U.S. shipbuilding comes at a pivotal moment. From icebreakers to training ships, America faces rising demand for vessels even as foreign competitors pour billions into their own yards. But there has been significant concern about how America can keep up. Government shipbuilding programs have fallen behind due […]

Great Lakes Icebreaker Gap Threatens American Maritime Dominance

By James Weakley, Lake Carriers’ Association. When Americans think of our coastlines, most picture the beaches of the Atlantic, the Pacific, or the Gulf. But the Great Lakes are America’s fourth coast — a 2,300-mile expanse reaching deep into the nation’s industrial heartland. Each year, this system moves more than 135 million tons of cargo worth over […]

America’s Shipyards Are Working — and Winning

By VOICES Staff. Across the United States, the shipbuilding industry is booming.  According to WorkBoat’s 2024 Construction Survey, more than 925 vessels were either delivered, under construction, or on order in the past year alone. That includes everything from tugboats and training ships to advanced subsea installation vessels and LNG-ready containerships. Recent milestones in Pennsylvania […]

The Trump Opportunity: Shipbuilders Discuss America’s Maritime Moment

Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Mike Roberts (Left) hosts the discussion at the Institute's DC offices (Credit: American Maritime VOICES).

By VOICES Staff. For the first time in decades, the men and women of American Maritime are in the spotlight, receiving Presidential and Congressional support, attention that industry veterans say was “really unimaginable until really just two or three years ago.” At a recent Hudson Institute panel discussion, leading voices in American shipbuilding came together […]

Long trek to Lone Star State sparked plan for SC maritime academy

The Citadel in Charleston would be home to the nation’s eighth maritime academy under a proposal by state Rep. Tom Hartnett Jr. of Charleston. (Photo by Ed Wray/provided by The Citadel)

by David Wren, SC Daily Gazette, August 8, 2025. With more than 1,100 miles to think while driving from Charleston to Galveston, Texas, three years ago, state Rep. Tom Hartnett Jr. found himself asking the same question again and again. Why doesn’t South Carolina have its own maritime academy? Hartnett was taking his son, Rhett, […]

‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ bolsters Coast Guard shipbuilding programs

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Argus becomes the first Offshore Patrol Cutter to be launched at a christening ceremony Panama City, Florida, Oct. 27, 2023. Petty Officer 1st Class Ronald Hodges, U.S. Coast Guard photo | DVIDS

By Steve Wilson. (The Center Square) — Passage of the “Big, Beautiful Bill” this summer has provided a jolt to the U.S. Coast Guard’s shipbuilding program as it seeks to replace most of its aging fleet. The service’s most important shipbuilding program, the Heritage class Offshore Patrol Cutter, is years behind schedule and its cost […]