America’s New Maritime Plan Is Competing for the Wrong Century - CleanTechnica

The new U.S. Maritime Action Plan acknowledges the severe decline of American commercial shipbuilding to less than 1% of global output, highlighting workforce shortages, fragmented procurement, and fragile supply chains. It proposes multiyear contracting, yard recapitalization, and supplier development to restore competitiveness. While the plan is coherent and realistic within a traditional framework, it is criticized for relying on a 20th-century approach that does not fully address the rapidly evolving global shipping market shaped by changing energy and environmental policies. Significant shifts are underway as regions like the European Union integrate maritime emissions into their Emissions Trading System and impose stricter greenhouse gas intensity standards, pushing the industry toward net-zero emissions by 2050. These regulations, along with China's aggressive low-carbon fuel strategies, are driving a fundamental change in shipping economics. Fuel costs combined with carbon pricing create strong financial incentives for adopting battery electric and hybrid propulsion technologies. For example, hybridization can reduce fuel consumption and carbon pricing exposure by 30%, yielding