Executive Overview
In an aggressive bid to rebuild the United States’ aging maritime infrastructure and counter a decades-long decline in domestic shipbuilding capacity, the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) has designated 16 additional academic and vocational institutions as Centers of Excellence (CoE) for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education. This expansion brings the total number of federally recognized CoE institutions to 48, spanning 87 training facilities across 28 states and territories. Collectively, this national network is tasked with training approximately 58,000 mariners, apprentices, and maritime students annually.
The designation of these new institutions comes at a critical juncture for U.S. national security and economic sovereignty. For decades, the domestic maritime sector has suffered from acute labor shortages, a graying workforce, and a severe contraction in commercial shipbuilding capability. Today, the United States accounts for less than 1% of global commercial ship construction—a vulnerability that has alarmed defense officials and supply chain strategists alike.
By partnering with elite engineering universities, community colleges, and vocational schools, the federal government is attempting to construct a resilient human supply chain. These institutions are tasked with preparing the next generation of mariners to operate everything from inland river towboats to advanced nuclear-powered naval vessels. Underpinned by President Donald Trump’s April 2025 executive order, "Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance," this expansion represents a coordinated effort to align federal resources, educational standards, and industrial needs under a unified national security mandate.
Detailed Chronology of the CoE Program
The Centers of Excellence program is a relatively young but rapidly expanding federal initiative designed to bridge the gap between regional training programs and national maritime defense requirements.
[2018] NDAA Authorizes CoE Program
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[2021] First Cohort Designated (27 Institutions)
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[2024] Second Cohort Expands Network
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[Feb 2025] MARAD Opens New Application Cycle (32 Institutions active)
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[April 2025] EO "Restoring America's Maritime Dominance" Issued
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[Late 2025] 16 New CoEs Designated (Network grows to 48 Institutions)
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[Fall 2026] Next Application Cycle Scheduled to OpenThe Legislative Genesis (2018–2021)
The program’s foundations were laid in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2018, which authorized MARAD to designate collaborative coalitions of associate degree-granting community colleges, technical colleges, and state maritime academies as Centers of Excellence. The goal was to create a formal pipeline to funnel civilian talent into both the commercial merchant marine and the defense shipbuilding industrial base. Following several years of rulemaking and program design, MARAD designated the inaugural cohort of 27 institutions in 2021.
Incremental Growth and Policy Alignment (2024–2025)
A subsequent round of designations in 2024 further expanded the program’s geographic footprint. By February 2025, when MARAD opened the latest application cycle, the network stood at 32 institutions operating across 44 cities in 17 states.
The momentum behind the program accelerated dramatically in April 2025, when President Trump signed the executive order "Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance." The directive recognized that hardware—such as ships, drydocks, and naval weaponry—is useless without a skilled workforce to build, maintain, and navigate it. The executive order mandated that federal agencies evaluate the baseline number of credentialed mariners required to sustain an expanded U.S. commercial and military fleet, leading directly to the aggressive expansion of the CoE network.
The Present Expansion and Beyond
The designation of the 16 new institutions in late 2025 represents the largest single expansion of the program since its inception. By broadening the network to 48 institutions across 28 states, MARAD has significantly diversified the types of training receiving federal support. Looking forward, MARAD has announced that the next application window for institutions seeking CoE status will open in the fall of 2026, signaling that the federal push to scale the maritime workforce will continue well into the late 2020s.
Supporting Context & Metrics: Analyzing the Maritime Deficit
The expansion of the CoE network is not merely an educational initiative; it is an emergency intervention in a vital sector of the U.S. industrial base. To understand the significance of this expansion, it is necessary to examine the metrics of the current U.S. maritime deficit and the specific capabilities of the newly designated institutions.
The Scale of the Workforce Pipeline
The 16 newly designated institutions alone account for nearly 20,000 trainees preparing for maritime careers. When integrated into the broader CoE network, they push the total training capacity to 58,000 students nationwide. This volume is critical to addressing the retirement cliff facing the industry, where the average age of a U.S. merchant mariner hover near 50, and shipyard workers are retiring faster than they can be replaced.
| Metric | Before 2025 Expansion | Post-2025 Expansion | Net Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Designated Institutions | 32 | 48 | +50% |
| Active Training Facilities | 44 | 87 | +97.7% |
| States & Territories Represented | 17 | 28 | +64.7% |
| Annual Trainees Enrolled | ~38,000 | ~58,000 | +52.6% |
Strategic Institutional Profiles
The newly designated institutions represent a diverse mix of elite engineering schools, specialized vocational academies, and community-focused institutions:
- University of Michigan (Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering): A world-class research hub, Michigan brings cutting-edge computational fluid dynamics, autonomous vessel design, and marine hydrodynamics expertise to the CoE network. This institution is vital for training the engineers who will design the next generation of stealth naval vessels and high-efficiency commercial cargo ships.
- Webb Institute (New York): An elite, highly specialized institution dedicated solely to naval architecture and marine engineering. Webb provides tuition-free education to top-tier engineering talent, serving as a primary pipeline for the designers and managers who oversee major U.S. shipyards.
- Northwest Maritime Center (Washington): Located in Port Townsend, this center focuses on hands-on seamanship, safety, and operational training. It serves as a vital workforce engine for the Pacific Northwest’s extensive ferry networks, tugboat operations, and coastal trade.
- Chapman School of Seamanship (Florida): Situated in a state with vast maritime activity, Chapman specializes in practical boat handling, navigation, and maritime technology, training the mariners who keep regional supply chains and offshore industries functioning.
- Bunker Hill Community College (Massachusetts): Representing the community college tier of the CoE program, Bunker Hill provides accessible, localized vocational pathways into maritime careers, helping to diversify the talent pool and connect urban populations with high-paying maritime careers.
The Global Shipbuilding Disparity
The urgency of these designations is underscored by the stark realities of global shipbuilding. Over the last four decades, commercial shipbuilding has concentrated heavily in East Asia. Today, China, South Korea, and Japan build approximately 90% of the world’s deep-sea commercial vessels, with China alone commanding over 50% of the global market.
Global Commercial Shipbuilding Market Share:
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
China, South Korea, Japan: █████████████████████████ 90%
Rest of the World: ██ 9%
United States: ▏ <1%
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────This concentration has left the United States with less than 1% of global market share, creating a critical vulnerability. In the event of a major geopolitical conflict, the U.S. military’s Sealift Command would rely heavily on civilian-crewed merchant vessels to transport troops, fuel, and equipment. A shortage of domestic shipyards and qualified mariners directly threatens the military’s logistical readiness.
Benefits of the CoE Designation
The Center of Excellence designation is more than an honorific title; it unlocks concrete operational benefits for a five-year term:
- Cooperative Agreements: Designated schools can enter into formal cooperative agreements with MARAD, streamlining joint research projects and workforce studies.
- Resource Sharing: Institutions gain access to surplus federal equipment, including machinery, simulators, and electronics that would otherwise be cost-prohibitive for local programs.
- Vessel Allocation: Schools may secure temporary use of MARAD-owned vessels for hands-on training, providing students with invaluable sea-time experience.
- Prior Learning Credit: The program helps institutions establish standardized pathways to grant academic and vocational credit for military training, making it easier for military veterans to transition into high-paying civilian maritime careers.
Official Statements and Policy Implications
The expansion of the CoE program reflects a shift in federal industrial policy toward active state support for critical supply-chain sectors. Official statements from administration leaders highlight the convergence of national security, economic resilience, and labor development.
"From constructing Navy warships to operating river towboats, we are partnering with elite institutions to equip our mariner workforce with the skills needed to keep our supply chains moving."
— Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy
Secretary Duffy’s statement underscores the broad scope of the maritime initiative. The administration is intentionally linking high-end military ship construction with mundane but essential domestic logistics, such as inland waterway tug operations. By framing the maritime workforce as the baseline of both naval defense and domestic supply chain resilience, the Department of Transportation is positioning maritime training as a core national security priority.
"The strength of America’s economy is tied directly to the resilience of our domestic fleet and the technical skill of our mariners. The institutions we honor today are the backbone of American maritime power."
— Maritime Administrator Stephen M. Carmel
Administrator Carmel’s remarks point to the technical demands of modern seafaring. He specifically noted that these CoEs will address highly specialized workforce needs, ranging from standard merchant mariner credentialing to training the highly skilled technicians required for nuclear shipbuilding.
The mention of nuclear shipbuilding is highly significant. The construction and maintenance of nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers represent the most complex manufacturing tasks in the world. Currently, only a few U.S. shipyards are capable of performing this work, and they face chronic labor shortages. By aligning CoE institutions with these high-tech industrial requirements, MARAD hopes to ease the hiring bottleneck for naval contractors.
Future Outlook & Strategic Challenges
While the expansion of the Centers of Excellence network to 48 institutions is a major milestone, the program faces significant headwinds as it seeks to revitalize the U.S. maritime sector.
Key Challenges to Maritime Revitalization:
┌───────────────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────────────┐
│ The Mariner Gap │ │ Funding Bottlenecks │
│ Low recruitment & high │ │ Prestige does not equal │
│ attrition in grueling sea │ │ direct capital investment │
│ careers. │ │ from Congress. │
└─────────────┬─────────────┘ └─────────────┬─────────────┘
└──────────────┬──────────────────┘
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Global Competitiveness │
│ Sustaining higher domestic labor costs while attempting │
│ to build commercial ships in an Asia-dominated market. │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘The Mariner Gap and Recruitment Realities
The primary hurdle facing the maritime industry is not just training capacity, but recruitment and retention. Seafaring is a demanding career that requires long periods away from home, rigorous physical labor, and exposure to harsh environments. In a strong domestic job market, attracting young workers to sea remains difficult.
Furthermore, the process of obtaining and maintaining U.S. Coast Guard credentials is notoriously slow and bureaucratic. Even if CoEs successfully graduate thousands of students, administrative delays in credentialing can cause qualified candidates to abandon the industry for shore-based careers.
Funding and Capital Investment
While CoE designation provides access to surplus equipment and federal vessels, it does not automatically guarantee direct, sustained federal funding. To truly scale these programs, Congress must back the CoE framework with significant appropriations in future National Defense Authorization Acts. Without capital to build new simulation labs, upgrade training docks, and hire specialized instructors, many community-level CoEs will struggle to scale their operations to meet the administration’s ambitious goals.
Integrating the Maritime Action Plan
The expansion of the CoE network is one part of a larger policy mosaic, including the Trump administration’s broader "Maritime Action Plan." This plan seeks to leverage the Jones Act—the century-old law requiring goods shipped between U.S. ports to be carried on vessels built, owned, and operated by U.S. citizens—to stimulate domestic shipbuilding.
For the Maritime Action Plan to succeed, the newly designated CoEs must successfully coordinate with domestic shipyards to ensure that curricula match the evolving technological needs of the industry. This includes training workers in advanced welding techniques, additive manufacturing (3D printing), and green propulsion systems, which are increasingly critical as global shipping moves toward decarbonization.
The 2026 Horizon
As MARAD prepares for the next application cycle in the fall of 2026, the maritime industry will be watching closely to see if this educational push translates into filled berths on U.S. vessels and reduced construction backlogs in U.S. shipyards. The designation of these 16 new Centers of Excellence represents a vital structural foundation, but rebuilding a global maritime power is a multi-decade endeavor. The success of this initiative will ultimately be measured not by the number of designated schools, but by the number of American ships built, crewed, and launched in the decades to come.
