SHIPS for America Act of 2025

Key Points

• The bill creates a Maritime Security Trust Fund capped at $20 billion, funded by tonnage taxes on foreign vessels, penalties on ships linked to countries of concern like China, and other maritime-related fees. The fund would pay for new shipbuilding incentives, workforce programs, and strategic fleet operations over a decade.
• A new Strategic Commercial Fleet of up to 250 privately owned, militarily useful American ships would be established, with annual payments ramping up from $150 million in fiscal year 2026 to $2.1 billion by 2035. These ships must be available for national defense during emergencies and must be crewed by American mariners.
• The bill raises the cargo preference requirement for government-owned cargo from 50% to 100% on American ships and phases in a new mandate that a growing share of goods imported from China must be carried on U.S.-built, U.S.-crewed vessels, starting at 1% in year five and rising to 10% by year 14.
• Workforce development provisions include student loan forgiveness for merchant mariners under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, GI Bill-style educational benefits for long-serving mariners, a career retention program, and over $1 billion authorized to modernize the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy campus.
• A new Maritime Security Advisor would be appointed within the Executive Office of the President and would chair a Maritime Security Board bringing together officials from Defense, Transportation, Homeland Security, and other agencies to coordinate a national maritime strategy and oversee all fleet programs.
• The bill imposes penalty tonnage taxes of up to $5 per ton on vessels owned or operated by foreign entities of concern, registered in countries of concern, or with significant ties to shipyards of concern. It also raises the duty on vessel repairs done in countries of concern from 50% to 200% of the foreign cost.