Where Can America Build More Ships?

Guest perspective. Brian Curry leads the New Jersey Naval & Maritime Alliance and Naval & Maritime Development LLC. His full bio and disclosures are at the end.

America wants to build more ships. The harder question is where. Expanded yards, new waterfront facilities and networks of qualified manufacturers can all add capacity, and the location decision starts with a specific question: what do we need this facility to produce?

A large oceangoing vessel, an autonomous craft, a structural module and an electrical system require different facilities. Before comparing states, we need to establish the customer, production rate, delivery date and the work that must happen on site. That is where I would start any serious site discussion. A region needs to understand which part of the production process it can deliver and what it will take to get that capacity working.

An established shipyard gives an expansion a starting point. It already has operating experience, infrastructure and customer relationships. The next investment might be a fabrication building, another berth or equipment that removes a production bottleneck. The expansion still has to fit the available land, workforce and ongoing work.

A new yard allows a company to design around its production process and future growth. It also requires a complete development effort, from land control and approvals through utilities, construction and hiring.

For some companies, a network of separate facilities can meet the requirement. Fabrication, systems integration, assembly and testing can occupy different sites if the transportation and production plan supports it.

The Gulf Coast offers examples of all three. In July 2026, Saronic selected Brownsville, Texas, for Port Alpha, a new shipyard the Port of Brownsville valued at $3.2 billion. The company described an initial 835-acre site with room for later expansion, cited workforce, infrastructure, logistics and land availability in its selection, and targeted operations for 2028. Those remain announced investment and schedule targets.

In Franklin, Louisiana, Saronic acquired an existing shipyard and began a $300 million expansion. Louisiana reported a groundbreaking in November 2025, with expanded operations expected in 2027. Separately, Saronic said in August 2026 that its first Marauder vessel was already in trials in Gulfport, Mississippi. Production in Louisiana and testing in Mississippi show how different locations can serve one delivery process.

Philadelphia illustrates expansion around an established commercial yard. Hanwha announced a $5 billion infrastructure plan for its Philly Shipyard in August 2025 that included additional docks and quays, and its July 2026 update added a new block production facility. Its shipping affiliate has ordered 10 tankers from the yard. Expansion has a clearer commercial basis when identified work is waiting to fill it.

HII shows how established yards can draw on manufacturing elsewhere. In April 2026, the company described a distributed shipbuilding network spanning 11 states that supports its primary yards in Newport News, Virginia, and Pascagoula, Mississippi. In July, Ingalls reported installing the first major structural blocks incorporating units built by Gulf Copper and Eastern Shipbuilding on the destroyer Thad Cochran (DDG 135), which means that outside work has reached final assembly.

HII also described the qualification behind that work, including technical assessments, workforce reviews and integration into its quality and material-control systems. A building with welding equipment becomes useful capacity when it can produce what the customer will accept, in the sequence the receiving yard needs.

Supplier capacity needs testing, too. In a February 2025 review, the Government Accountability Office found that outside suppliers could face workforce and infrastructure constraints of their own. I would confirm material and equipment availability, qualification requirements and delivery times alongside the yard's construction schedule.

The opportunities extend into the Great Lakes and New England. Fincantieri announced plans in April 2026 to build Saildrone's Spectre vessels within its Wisconsin shipyard system. In September, HII opened a 10,000-square-foot expansion at its unmanned systems campus in Pocasset, Massachusetts. Both use established manufacturing capabilities as maritime products change.

On the West Coast, General Dynamics NASSCO's San Diego operation shows why existing capacity needs steady work. Its May announcement of $856 million in funding for another Navy fleet oiler was tied to workforce continuity. A yard needs a dependable sequence of funded orders to keep the people who make it productive.

My read of these examples is that regions should compete for defined production roles. Gulf locations are attracting new yards, expansions and testing. Philadelphia and Virginia provide established shipbuilding anchors. Wisconsin and Massachusetts show opportunities around existing builders and specialized systems. Inland manufacturers can participate where their processes, qualifications and delivery routes fit the customer's needs.

That broader approach applies to the Delaware River corridor, including South Jersey. Industrial properties there should be evaluated for fabrication, equipment, integration or waterfront operations against a specific requirement. Proximity to Philadelphia is a reason to investigate those connections, but each opportunity still needs an available site, a customer and a workable delivery plan.

My site review would go beyond advertised acreage and channel depth. For a yard assembling and launching vessels, the full water route matters. Berth depth, approach depth, turning room, bridge clearance and launch method must all work for the vessel. A deep navigation channel does not establish usable access at the property. If dredging is needed, establish its cost, permitting path and who maintains it.

For a module supplier, I would check crane capacity, building clearance, ground loading and the route to the assembly yard. Large sections need a verified barge or heavy-haul path. A smaller equipment manufacturer may need suitable industrial space and dependable power with no waterfront at all. Dividing production among sites can widen the options while adding transport, handling and coordination costs.

Land control comes early. Who owns the property, and can the required footprint be acquired or leased on the production timeline? Former industrial sites also need a known environmental condition, a defined cleanup scope and a clear answer on who pays. Usable acreage has to account for flood exposure, access, storage and the layout of the work itself.

Utilities belong in the schedule. The operator needs confirmed electrical capacity and a credible service date, along with the water, wastewater and other services its process requires. Road and rail connections need to work for actual deliveries, and existing infrastructure may need significant work before it can support a new operation.

GAO also identified workforce limits affecting shipbuilders. For a location decision, I would test the availability of welders, electricians, machinists, inspectors and supervisors against hiring dates. Training should follow the employer's requirements. I would also assess housing, commuting, retention and competition with nearby employers before accepting a workforce plan.

I would also separate the facility economics from the shipbuilder's operating needs. The shipbuilder needs customers, production equipment, people and working capital. The developer needs a defined facility, a credible occupant and a lease or sale that supports the cost of delivery. Lenders and investors need to understand repayment, return and who carries delays or overruns.

That is why the word turnkey needs a clear definition. Prepared land, a serviced building, an equipped factory and an operating shipyard are different deliverables. The parties need to agree on what is included, who owns it and who pays before a development price has meaning.

Incentives should address a defined cost at the right time. A developer may need help with remediation or infrastructure. An operator may value workforce support or benefits that reduce costs over years of production. Louisiana's offer to Saronic included workforce assistance and grants for facility and infrastructure improvements. The recipient, payment timing and conditions determine whether that support closes the actual funding gap.

Public partners also need a funded scope, measurable benefits and clear responsibilities. Shared infrastructure can support several employers, but someone has to pay to build and operate it. Commercial and government orders can broaden a yard's workload, provided each has credible demand and a production plan that supports profitable delivery.

The locations best positioned to capture investment will be the ones that can connect those decisions. They will know which production role fits, what the site can support, how the workforce will be developed and what the project costs. And they will have someone responsible for the schedule across property owners, utilities, public agencies, developers and operators.

America's next shipbuilding expansion can reach well beyond the yard where a vessel enters the water. The practical test for every participating location is whether it can deliver qualified production, with a customer, funding and a date it can meet.

About the author: Brian Curry is founder and president of the New Jersey Naval & Maritime Alliance (NJNMA) and managing partner of Naval & Maritime Development LLC (NMD). Both organizations work in maritime and defense industrial development, including along the Delaware River corridor discussed in this piece. The analysis and recommendations here are his own. Project figures and milestones are attributed to the companies and agencies that announced them and were checked Sept. 28, 2026; forecasts remain stated targets.

Source notes

Checked September 28, 2026. Project figures and milestones below are attributed to the issuing organizations. Forecasts remain stated targets. The location, sequencing and financing recommendations are the author's analysis. The regional examples do not establish spare labor or site readiness.

Where is new capacity actually landing? The Location Intelligence Project Tracker follows major U.S. location decisions, including shipyards, defense manufacturing and the suppliers around them, with verified capex, jobs and sources for each.