Spurred by China's current dominance in shipbuilding and America's reliance on foreign shipyards,
the United States government is taking measures to revitalize the country's maritime power. Doing so will require research, strategic investments to address a shipbuilding skills gap, and international collaboration. With
one of the nation's few departments dedicated to naval architecture and marine engineering (NA & ME), the
University of Michigan (U-M) is leading efforts to train the needed workforce and develop
a statewide maritime strategy.
"I'm excited that the U.S. is finally realizing that we need to change something and revitalize the commercial shipping and shipbuilding industry," says Thomas McKenney, a U-M associate professor of practice in naval architecture and marine engineering. "It's great to be in the U.S. maritime industry right now because of generally bipartisan, bicameral support."
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Marcin Szczepanski, Michigan EngineeringChief engineer Erik Wlazlo (first right) shows Thomas McKenney (center) and his students, Logan Cox (back left) and Hal Berdichesky (front left), how the engine control room works on the Mark W. Barker.
Key support includes a new White House Office of Shipbuilding, created to support America's commercial and military shipbuilding industry. Additionally, Congress introduced the bipartisan
Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security for America Act (SHIPS for America Act) in December 2024.
The urgency for maritime revitalization is connected to some concerning statistics. According to findings from the SHIPS for America Act, "the United States has fewer than 200 oceangoing vessels of the United States, of which only approximately 80 vessels participate in international commerce, compared with more than 5,500 Chinese documented vessels."
The worldwide ocean economy is valued between $3 trillion and $6 trillion. However, U.S. vessels carry less than 2% of America's international commercial cargo by weight. America's shipyards – which face strong competition from foreign counterparts – produce less than 1% of the world's ships. Most of those ships are smaller domestic shipping vessels built to satisfy the Jones Act, which requires that anyone shipping goods between American ports use ships that are American-built and -owned. These ships must be American-flagged and staffed by U.S. crews.
The SHIPS for America Act establishes a quota to build 250 new vessels in 10 years. But for this to happen, according to conservative estimates, shipping manufacturers and the associated industry will need to hire about 100,000 people.
"We at the University of Michigan are really well-positioned to help," McKenney says. "We have the only remaining department dedicated to naval architecture and engineering that has undergraduate, all the way through to Ph.D., degrees in the U.S."
In addition to the maritime expertise U-M brings to the table, McKenney says, the university is an overall treasure trove of talent.
"We have the Ford School of Public Policy, the Ross School of Business, and we have a really good school for environment and sustainability, for example," he says. "We have this broad interdisciplinary support that can really drive us to become leaders and help."
Since its establishment in 1879, the university's NA&ME department has been a force in shipbuilding research and workforce development. It's produced 1,800 graduates over the past 34 years, including over 800 doctors.
Students come from all walks of life and often receive multiple job offers when they graduate. Four of the U.S. Navy's last five chief naval architects are U-M naval architecture alumni – evidence of the program's strength and reputation.
The nation's shipbuilding SOS
NA&ME professor David Singer says it's important to understand the current threat to America's maritime presence, and the urgent need for shipbuilding.
"Our interests as America are about our financial interests, our freedom interests, our natural resource interests, our environmental interests," Singer says. "If you look at history, and the history of humankind, no country has maintained its self-interest if they've either lost their military dominance or their commercial ship dominance. They're intertwined."
He stresses that although shipbuilding and the shipbuilding workforce have been neglected, the SHIPS for America Act and a
recent executive order from President Donald Trump represent a good course correction. He says they're especially important now, when "the wolf is already at the door."
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Marcin Szczepanski, Michigan EngineeringThe Mark W. Barker, the first commercial vessel to be built on the Great Lakes in more than 40 years, in River Rouge.
Singer points out the position of other countries such as China, the global leader in shipbuilding. China turns out approximately 10,000-15,000 naval architects and marine engineers annually – potentially even more when including support engineers. By contrast, the U.S. produces only 50-100 naval engineers per year.
China's high engineer production supports its commercial and military shipbuilding capabilities. It also means the country is able to more rapidly develop maritime technologies and infrastructure, which represents a potential national security threat to the U.S.
"It's just fundamentally where we're at," Singer says. "Sometimes, unfortunately, you have to learn how to play while you're playing in the championships at the same time."
Shoring up solutions
Singer says U-M's continued collaboration with other nations and educational institutions is crucial for training future naval architects. An educational partnership with South Korea, which ranks second in global shipbuilding behind China, is currently being expanded. The specialized exchange program is designed for students, professors, and engineers from U-M, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Seoul National University to learn from one another.
What's also important for Korean allies, Singer shares, is "exposure to the decision-makers of the future."
"My students will be the civilian engineers, either working for the Navy or working as defense contractors, of which these officers will then be the next admirals and captains," Singer says. "Establishing the ecosystem of relationships early is how we accelerate our reconstitution of our American naval and commercial assets."
NA&ME professor Jonathan Page is also confident in the potential of collaborations. His hope is to train students in a way that shows them a gold standard of ship design and construction in Korea, Japan, and other places.
"Understanding the differences between American products, processes, and workers, versus those in Korea, and what can translate over here is good knowledge," he says. "We can look at how we can bring the appropriate pieces into the American shipbuilding domain to help with things like better integration of technology."
All hands on deck for the future
Page joined U-M in 2022, after he retired from a distinguished 21-year career in the U.S. Navy. His motivation is to give students a "21-year head start."
"The most important thing I've learned is that shipbuilding is a team sport. It's not just a design team, but a construction team, a team between the Navy and shipbuilders," he says. "There is no other way that we can design, construct, and deliver these large, complex – probably the most complex, complicated engineering feats in the world."
Page stresses that he wants to work with other academic institutions moving forward. The goal is to help shore up additional programs and provide help where needed. That could materialize as curriculum or content delivery. It could mean including other universities in agreements and arrangements with Korean, Japanese, and European shipbuilders with whom U-M has good, standing relationships.
"There's a tide coming and we want to make sure that everyone rises with it," he says. "People countrywide and internationally can rely on us to build the connections amongst us all, help industry by delivering capable engineers, and help academia by providing capable future faculty."
In agreement is McKenney, who shares that work on Michigan's statewide maritime strategy – initiated by the state to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, as part of MI Healthy Climate Plan – is halfway complete. The focus is on decarbonization, economic growth, and community impact.
"The biggest and most consistent feedback that we've received is that any type of strategy needs to be holistic," he says. "How do we ensure a healthy environment, and how do we engage communities and people as we grow the maritime economy?"
He underscores that Michigan is already an innovation leader in a lot of areas, mostly related to automotive specialties. That leadership can be leveraged in the maritime space.
"Think about our water access and our strong industrial base. We're on the Great Lakes and have the ability to to build up our maritime supply chain," McKenney says. "Even think about shipyards building smaller vessels or modules of larger ones. We're already leading in some spaces. Developing the statewide maritime strategy is just one."