SHIPS for America Act of 2025

This section establishes a Maritime Security Advisor within the Executive Office of the President and a Maritime Security Board. The Advisor will coordinate national maritime affairs and policy, including developing and implementing a National Maritime Strategy. The Board, composed of various agency heads, will set policy priorities, oversee financial assistance programs, ensure cargo preference compliance, and coordinate workforce development and technology research.

This section establishes a "Maritime Security Trust Fund" to support the U.S. merchant marine and maritime industrial base. The fund will be credited with receipts from regular and special tonnage taxes, duties on vessel equipment and repairs (including increased duties for foreign countries of concern), duties from USTR actions against China's maritime sector, and various maritime penalties and forfeiture revenues. The fund has a $20 billion cap and is available for expenditures until October 1, 2035.

This section establishes national objectives for U.S. strategic sealift, emphasizing self-sufficiency for defense and economic security, primarily with U.S.-built, operated, and maintained vessels. It mandates the Maritime Security Board to annually develop a strategy to expand the U.S. sealift fleet using existing and new financial assistance programs, consistent with national defense requirements. It also prioritizes U.S. commercial vessels, then U.S. government vessels, then allied vessels for sealift capacity.

This section creates a "Strategic Commercial Fleet" program to incentivize the construction and operation of active, commercially viable, militarily useful, privately owned U.S. vessels in international commerce. It sets annual targets for adding vessels (up to 250 total) through competitive selection, offering operating and capital support payments. It prioritizes U.S.-built vessels, but allows for foreign-built interim vessels under certain conditions, and includes strict "Buy America" and repair requirements.

This section amends existing law to require 100% of U.S. Government-procured, furnished, or financed cargo to be transported on U.S.-flagged vessels, up from the current 50%. It clarifies that only the Maritime Administrator, acting as Director of the National Shipping Authority, can determine non-availability of U.S. flag capacity and that waivers are only temporary and for declared emergencies.

This section mandates that a gradually increasing percentage (starting at 1% after 5 years, reaching 10% after 14 years) of goods manufactured in the People's Republic of China, imported into the U.S. by tonnage, must be carried on U.S.-flagged, U.S.-crewed, and U.S.-built vessels. It imposes fines for non-compliance, with revenues going to the Maritime Security Trust Fund.

This section directs the Secretary (of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating) to establish alternate standards for self-propelled oceangoing vessels not currently documented under Chapter 121 of Title 46, USC, to receive a certificate of inspection if they commit to becoming a documented U.S. vessel. Eligibility requires the vessel to be classed by an accepted classification society, comply with international agreements, and be assessed for cybersecurity risks. It also allows reliance on classification society certifications.

This section establishes a program providing federal financial assistance to U.S. citizens for constructing U.S.-documented vessels or to U.S. shipyards for "qualified shipyard investments." For vessel construction, it covers the cost difference between U.S. and foreign construction. For shipyards, it incentivizes investments in facilities, equipment, or maritime component suppliers. It includes "Buy America" requirements, clawback provisions for delays, and a pilot program for vessels in domestic commerce.

This section mandates the Secretary of the Navy, in coordination with the Secretary of Transportation and Coast Guard, to assess commercial best practices in maritime vessel construction and repair. The goal is to identify opportunities for the Navy and Coast Guard to improve efficiency, leverage advanced technologies (including small modular reactors for propulsion), and use commercial off-the-shelf components to reduce costs and enhance capabilities for combatant and non-combatant vessels.

This section amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to include service in the United States Merchant Marine as a qualifying full-time public service job for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. A "full-time job" is defined as possessing a Coast Guard credential and employment on a U.S. vessel for at least 150 days in a calendar year.

This section mandates the Maritime Administrator to publish a biennial report on the state of the merchant mariner workforce. The report must include counts of active, inactive, and formerly credentialed mariners, foreign workers on U.S. offshore facilities, actively operating U.S. vessels, and an assessment of mariner requirements for national defense sealift operations. It also requires identification of credentialing concerns and recommendations for retention and recruitment. The Administrator is granted access to Coast Guard data, with privacy safeguards.

This section establishes a new "United States Vessel Investment credit" of 33% (plus potential bonuses up to 5% for U.S. insurance and 2% for U.S. classification society) for qualified investments in the construction, repowering, or reconstruction of U.S.-flagged cargo vessels in U.S. shipyards. The vessel must operate in U.S. foreign trade for at least 10 years and participate in an emergency preparedness agreement. It includes recapture provisions if the agreement is violated and allows for elective payment or transfer of the credit.

This section establishes a new "shipyard investment tax credit" equal to 25% of qualified investment in "qualified shipyard facilities" located in the U.S. A qualified shipyard facility is defined as one primarily for constructing/repairing commercial or military oceangoing vessels, or manufacturing critical components/equipment for such vessels. The credit terminates after December 31, 2032, and cannot be claimed if the U.S. Vessel Investment credit (Sec. 701) is claimed for the same property. It also allows for elective payment or transfer.

This section creates "maritime prosperity zones" by treating certain population census tracts as qualified opportunity zones for tax purposes. These zones must contain or be viable sites for U.S. shipyards, ports, or harbor facilities, and be nominated by the Maritime Administrator and certified by the Secretary of the Treasury. Investments in these zones must be substantially used in specific maritime-related North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes (e.g., deep sea freight, shipbuilding). A maximum of 100 zones can be designated for 5-year periods.