US eyes a commercial fleet of 250 vessels to support national defense, economic security

Lawmakers in the United States have announced the reintroduction of the SHIPS for America ACT, a landmark legislation to revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding and commercial maritime industries and counter China’s dominance.

Specifically, the ‘Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity 6 and Security for America Act of 2025‘ calls for the establishment of a fleet, to be known as the ‘Strategic Commercial Fleet’ of active, commercially viable, militarily useful, privately owned vessels to meet national defense and other security requirements and maintain a U.S. presence in international shipping.

What is more, the bill says that the number of vessels in this strategic commercial fleet “shall be not more than 250 vessels at any point in time.”

As informed, the United States has fewer than 200 oceangoing vessels, of which only approximately 80 vessels participate in international commerce, compared with more than 5,500 Chinese documented vessels.

In addition, there are just 20 shipbuilders in the United States capable of building oceangoing vessels today—down from more than 80 at the end of the Second World War.

Eighty percent of United States goods are imported by sea, of which 98 percent come into the country on foreign documented vessels.

“There are currently 80 U.S.-flagged vessels in international commerce. […] China has 5,500. The United States commercial maritime industry cannot keep pace with China’s shipbuilding and maritime fleet, and it’s driving up costs and threatening our national security,” Senator Mark Kelly said at a Capitol Hill press conference last week.

“It means that so many of the products that get shipped to American ports, put on trains or trucks, and sent to stores everywhere from Arizona to Indiana are on Chinese ships, built with subsidies from the Chinese government, and at a price set by Chinese companies.”

“So, that’s why today we’re reintroducing the SHIPS for America Act, which is without a doubt the most ambitious effort in a generation to revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding and commercial maritime industries and counter China’s dominance over the oceans,” Kelly added.

The SHIPS for America Act would also establish a $20 billion Maritime Security Trust Fund to encourage the country to work with allies to meet sealift requirements. It would stipulate that 100 percent of government cargo needs to be carried on U.S.-flagged vessels.

In addition to the lawmakers, the press conference featured remarks from key stakeholders. Speakers emphasized the urgent need to rebuild U.S. maritime capacity to compete with China’s state-backed fleet, strengthen supply chains, and protect national security.

The act was first introduced in December 2024 to bolster America’s commercial maritime industry and enhance its competitiveness.

In April 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to “restore American maritime dominance” as uncertainty lingers over the global shipping market amid geopolitical tensions and the U.S.-China maritime rivalry.

The Trump administration also recently introduced fees of up to $1.5 million on Chinese shipping companies and Chinese-built vessels. The fees are set to take effect 180 days from the announcement (on October 14). However, they could still be amended following a public hearing scheduled by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

Whether the fees will ultimately be implemented in full or adjusted as part of negotiations remains unknown.

The impact of the proposed fees on major shipping segments

In the last week of April, Nikos Tagoulis, Senior Analyst at Intermodal, touched upon the topic of tariffs and their impact on key shipping segments.

An assessment across major shipping segments revealed varying degrees of potential impact:

He explained that the dry bulk sector appears relatively less impacted due to two factors:

• US imports of dry bulk commodities are only a small share of global dry bulk imports and
• Vessels with bulk capacity under 80,000 dwt, a significant share of dry bulk carriers calling US ports, are exempt from the fees.

Additionally, US dry bulk exports are expected to remain undisrupted, as vessels arriving in ballast to load cargo are exempted.

Regarding tankers, due to the multiple exemptions (vessels under 55,000 dwt, chemical tankers, short sea routes etc), the small share of the USA in crude and product imports and small volume of tanker voyages to US ports (as of full 2024), less than 5% of the voyages would face fees. Consequently, limited impact on crude and product tanker trade flows is estimated.

LNG carriers are exempt from fees. However, from 2028 onwards, a new requirement is introduced, i.e. 1% of exported LNG to be carried by US-built, flagged, and operated vessels, increasing gradually to 15% by 2047. The feasibility of this requirement is questionable, given the current shortage of US LNG vessels and timeframes linked to the construction of new units.

On the other hand, the containership sector could face more pronounced impacts. Larger vessels (above 4,000 TEU) will be subject to fees, potentially shifting demand toward smaller ships. As immediate market response, a decline of bookings on China-US routes has been observed, and an increase in blank sailings, with owners and charterers adopting a cautious stance and reassessing options.

Other effects include a potential uptick in frontloads as the implementation date approaches, trade reshuffling with Chinese ships avoiding US trades and expansion of regional hub-and-spoke models, where cargo is transshipped through Caribbean or Latin American ports onto smaller feeder vessels, allowing operators to bypass the new fees, according to Tagoulis.

Finally, all foreign-built vehicle carriers will be subject to fees, but operators may achieve a three-year fee remission if they order a vessel of equal or greater capacity at a U.S. shipyard. Given that the US was the world’s largest seaborne car importer in 2024, with a share of approximately 19% of global car imports, the impact here is likely to be significant.

Although the policy aims to stimulate US shipbuilding, challenges loom: the global PCC sector is currently oversupplied with a heavy orderbook (following market’s surge due to the rapid growth of EVs production and sales), and a slowdown in seaborne vehicle trade may discourage newbuild orders despite the incentives offered.

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