Secretary Del Toro made the remarks at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration (MARAD) National Maritime Day ceremony, May 22, in Washington, D.C.

“History reveals that no nation has endured as a great naval power without also being a commercial maritime power, both in shipbuilding and shipping,” said Secretary Del Toro. “And for the first time in 125 years, we have a full-spectrum, global maritime competitor. That is why, as Secretary of the Navy, I have advocated so forcefully to revive commercial shipbuilding and the U.S. Merchant Marine.”

To achieve this goal, Secretary Del Toro has engaged across the Cabinet to advance a whole-of-government effort to rebuild the Nation’s comprehensive maritime power.

For example, last May, Secretary Del Toro met with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Administrator for the Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD) retired Rear Adm. Ann C. Phillips to begin laying key groundwork for interagency collaboration that is at the center of our new national Maritime Statecraft.

“Our collective efforts have catapulted the importance of restoring America’s comprehensive maritime power to the top of the national agenda. We are now participating in multiple White House-led interagency processes on naval and commercial shipbuilding,” said Secretary Del Toro.

In addition, last year, Secretary Del Toro brought together the Maritime Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Army to form a Government Shipbuilder’s Council to tackle common challenges.

“We are also working closely at the state level, including with the Governors of Wisconsin and Michigan, on improving shipyard communities and mobilizing the ‘North Coast’s’ world-class industrial workforce,” said Secretary Del Toro.

Other efforts include:

• Engaging with organized labor. Last month, Senior Advisor Steve Brock was present at the signing ceremony of an innovative union contract between Bartlett Maritime and the President of the Boilermakers Union. This new program will train union welders in the construction trades in shipbuilding work and deploy them as a rotational force to shipyards around the country.
• Working to restore competition in the U.S. shipbuilding marketplace. Earlier this year, Secretary Del Toro traveled to Asia to meet with the top executives of the world’s most advanced and productive commercial shipbuilders. He brought to the table a simple, yet profound opportunity: “Invest in America”—modernize and invigorate the U.S. shipbuilding ecosystem with your cutting-edge technology and processes.
• Expanding opportunities. Recently, the Department of Energy (DOE) expanded eligibility for its significant infrastructure and IRA loan program to include new and modernized commercial shipyards, as well as, construction of commercial ships at scale. These incentives should open a path for U.S. built ships to once again be part of our commercial sealift programs.

“On this National Maritime Day, I want mariners and those who love and support them to know a renaissance in American maritime power has begun, and we, in the Department of the Navy, are with you,” said Secretary Del Toro.

Congress established National Maritime Day in 1933 to honor the maritime industry’s significant contributions to the United States.  Congress established National Maritime Day to honor the American steamship Savannah’s historic voyage from the United States to England, marking the first successful transatlantic crossing using steam propulsion, 91 years ago.

Read Secretary Del Toro’s full remarks online.