So, We Have a Maritime Action Plan

...now for the followthrough...

In the second half of the last Midrats Podcast, Mark and I discussed the recently released Maritime Action Plan. I still don’t understand why we release such documents on a Friday before a three-day weekend, but whoever makes that call should be left with the next bar tab.

To their great credit however, the April 2025 Executive Order demanded a deliverable, and they got it done on time.

If you are looking for a naval strategy or other “this type of system doing that” report, you won’t find it here, and nor should you.

This is signed by Marco Rubio as National Security Advisor and Russ Vought as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. It is best seen as an economic, industrial policy, and budget priorities document. It isn’t primarily focused on the deployable fleet, but something foundational and arguably more important that everything else is built on.

Here are its four pillars, and the parts of it that got my attention.

• Pillar I: Rebuild Shipbuilding Capacity and Capabilities

  • Only 8 yards in the USA that can build ships greater than 400 feet

  • Less than 1% of the world’s commercial shipping was built in the USA

  • Maritime Prosperity Zones

  • Focus on geographical diversity, including the Great Lakes and our river systems

  • Universal fees on foreign built vessels bringing products to American ports

• Pillar II: Reform Workforce Education and Training

  • Fix the deferred maintenance disgrace at the Merchant Marine Academy

  • Help lift up state Merchant Marine Acedemies

  • Workforce development

• Pillar III: Protect the Maritime Industrial Base

  • Investigate People’s Republic of China’s threats to our industrial base

• Pillar IV: National Security, Economic Security, and Industrial Resilience

  • Increase US flagged fleet

  • Prioritize robotics and autonomous systems

  • Boost arctic presence

  • Deregulation

They wind things up with some solid discussions about deregulation and proposed legislation. That last bit…that is under-appreciated.

If used properly, the Maritime Action Plan is a solid “Ref. A.” for follow-on legislation and programs. It gives someone the ability to have the handy hook of, “IAW the Maritime Action Plan…”

It also is a useful information source for leaders who have a lot on their plate but are not steeped in maritime issues. They know there are problems that need to be addressed, but don’t fully understand where to place the levers of power they have access to. This can be used as a guide to do just that.

In a way, a barrier removal exercise is key to see where we are, where we want to be, and what barriers are between the two. This does that.

Give it a read for the details but take this to heart: besides renovations to the Merchant Marine Academy and a few other side items, the core of this requires action that will not have a quick turnaround. This will need to be a multi-administration and bipartisan effort to be a success. This should be a thoroughly non-partisan effort. All sides “win” with a strong maritime industrial base, well capitalized national merchant marine, and a Navy second to none.

To enable that, both parties should ensure that their leading people driving this effort to rebuild our maritime infrastructure have exceptionally good playground manners and a reputation for healthy competition but not bringing a baggage train of toxicity with them as they walk through the door.

This effort is too important.