As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Marine Group Boat Works, San Diego, Calif., has been awarded a $633,005 grant from the U.S. Navy to establish a grant-funded maritime welding program aimed at expanding the pool of welders certified to Navy standards for shipbuilding and repair work. The grant covers 75% of the program’s total cost, with Marine Group funding the remaining 25%. The initiative is designed to address workforce constraints by increasing the number of welders certified to Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) requirements, supporting production capacity for Navy surface ships and other maritime assets.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. After agreeing to limit and then relocate cruise ships out of the center of the Dutch city, members of Amsterdam’s coalition government, including the mayor and some aldermen, are now saying it would be more cost-effective to simply eliminate cruise ships. On Wednesday, January 21, they floated a plan to phase out all port calls by ocean-going cruise ships by 2035, while maintaining a smaller number of river cruise ship calls. Concerns about pollution and overtourism have been growing in Amsterdam for nearly a decade.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. If mental health is not treated as safety-critical, we risk losing a whole generation of seafarers who are not willing to sacrifice their health for a career, regardless of how well-paid it is. Life at sea can be unforgiving, seafarers face long stretches away from home, shift patterns that disrupt sleep, demanding operational pressures, isolation, harsh weather, and often little privacy. We are already seeing heightened anxiety in younger seafarers before they have even stepped foot on the ship. Some of this is genuine incidence, some is better recognition and willingness to disclose. Younger seafarers often report performance pressure, financial insecurity, and digital overexposure earlier in their careers.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. There’s a strong Finnish component to how Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) will use the $5.8 million shipbuilding workforce development grant it was recently awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor. The academy will partner with Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK) in Rauma, Finland, to develop an international shipbuilding fellowship. Additional shipbuilding workforce development project consortium partners include Bollinger Shipyards and Finland’s Länsirannikon Koulutus Oy WinNova (WinNova) and Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) — which is partnering with Bollinger to build USCG Arctic Security Cutter icebreakers.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Washington is a maritime state, thus our focus on U.S. shipbuilding and maritime fuels for our Winter meeting this February. The two go hand in hand, and there are significant workforce considerations for BOTH. Shipbuilding and vessel maintenance capacity in Washington represents one of our most strategic maritime workforce challenges and opportunities. 

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the award of nearly $14 million in funding to support the development of programs aimed at reinvigorating and rebuilding the U.S. maritime industry and shipbuilding workforce. Administered by the department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs, the department awarded $8 million to Pennsylvania’s Delaware County Community College and $5.8 million to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy to advance the next generation of American shipbuilders through hands-on, cutting-edge training programs developed in conjunction with international partners.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Officials gathered on January 7 at the Port of Portland, Oregon, to mark what they are calling a fresh start for a reborn container shipping terminal. The only one in the state, the small facility known for years as Terminal 6, had faced an imminent closure due to mounting financial losses and the lack of an operator. Oregon’s Governor Tina Kotek intervened to save the operation while highlighting its critical contribution to the state’s economy and local businesses. The state committed to providing $40 million to bridge the operations while a new operator was located. It also committed to infrastructure improvements for a port that is located far upriver from the ocean.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. 2025 was a challenging year for the maritime industry’s decarbonization efforts. Reports at the beginning of the year highlighted that despite an acceleration in the industry’s engagement in low-carbon clean technologies, international shipping emissions were said to have largely returned to 2008 levels. Positive signals came early in January with the introduction of FuelEU Maritime (FEUM), which represents one of the most comprehensive pieces of regional emissions legislation to date, and which seeks to incentivize the integration of low-carbon alternative fuels. FEUM was quickly followed by the unveiling of the IMO’s proposed Net Zero Framework, which represented a watershed moment in unifying previously fragmented regional emissions regulation in place of one codified global framework.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Fluid Motion announced a multiyear financing agreement wherein Yamaha Financial Services becomes the exclusive provider of dealer inventory finance and the preferred provider of retail finance for Fluid Motion in the United States and Canada. Fluid Motion is the manufacturer for Ranger Tugs, Cutwater Boats and Solara Boats. The partnership is effective Feb. 1.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Seaspan’s production-ready icebreaker design will be built in Finland and Louisiana as Washington races to counter Russian and Chinese activity in the High North. Canada’s Seaspan Shipyards has signed agreements with Bollinger Shipyards and Finland’s Rauma Marine Constructions to provide its production-ready Multi-Purpose Icebreaker (MPI) design for the U.S. Coast Guard’s Arctic Security Cutter (ASC) program, forming an unprecedented North American–Nordic shipbuilding partnership that aims to deliver up to six cutters by the end of the decade. Announced today in North Vancouver, the deals make Seaspan’s MPI design — developed in partnership with Finland’s Aker Arctic Technology under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy — the foundation for rapidly expanding the U.S. Coast Guard’s icebreaking fleet as Washington moves to counter growing Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. As the maritime industry continues to expand, innovate, and welcome a more diverse workforce, we’re proud to present our 2025 list of Top Women in Maritime—now in its sixth year of celebrating the leaders shaping the future of our industry. This year’s honorees represent a remarkable group of 20 women from around the world, each nominated by Marine Log readers. Their backgrounds span vessel operations, shoreside management, engineering, policy, technology, and more. What unites them is their impact: each has made meaningful, measurable contributions to the maritime sector.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) announced on Monday that it will take on oversight of deepwater port licensing from the U.S. Coast Guard. This change will streamline environmental reviews, accelerate license approvals, and lower domestic energy costs. “The Deepwater Port Program is a key pillar of President Trump’s energy dominance strategy. With this change, we’ll soon accelerate project approvals so the nation can safely utilize more of its abundant natural resources, create more high-paying jobs, and lower energy costs for American families,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. “MarAd is excited and proud to lead the Deepwater Port Program. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with our partners at the U.S. Coast Guard to make this process more efficient and fuel our energy economy for years to come,” said MarAd Administrator Steve Carmel.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Collisions between marine vessels and vessel impacts with stationary structures, like offshore oil platforms and depleted wellheads, are becoming increasingly common. These incidents come with a cost – including the financial burden of lost goods and potential loss of life. Ocean engineering researchers at Texas A&M University are developing a smarter system to combat these incidents and their costs. By combining raw radar imaging data with advanced machine learning, researchers have created SMART-SEA, a system that gives seafarers real-time guidance on how and when to maneuver their vessel. To design a practical system for seafarers, researchers conducted a focus group with Texas A&M at Galveston faculty members, many of whom are former seafarers. Researchers also collaborated with industry experts, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard. Their experience assisted researchers in defining practical decision-making skills – like when to yield and how far to turn – and implementing them into the SMART-SEA system.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Dakota Creek Industries, Inc. is now accepting applications for its Marine Trades Apprenticeship Program. This paid program combines hands-on, on-the-job training in a working shipyard with structured classroom instruction, creating a direct pathway into long-term, family-wage maritime careers. Apprentices work alongside experienced journey-level tradespeople on active vessel repair and maintenance projects, developing technical skills, safety awareness, and real-world problem-solving abilities in the marine trades.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Capt. Stephen Carmel was confirmed late Thursday as the new administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration. Carmel was confirmed by the Senate in a 53-43 yea-nay vote. President Donald Trump nominated Carmel to serve as the next administrator back in May of this year. Carmel will fill a position that has been vacant since Rear Adm. (Ret.) Ann C. Phillips resigned in January.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Launch Your Maritime Career — For Free! The Youth Marine Foundation is offering free maritime workforce training through the WAVE Seafarer Readiness Program, funded by the Washington State Department of Transportation.

This program prepares socially and economically disadvantaged adult jobseekers to enter careers in Washington State Ferries and the maritime industry — one of Washington’s fastest-growing, high-paying fields.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. The National Waterways Foundation (NWF) has commissioned and released a study conducted by the Center for Ports and Waterways, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, titled “Evaluating Employment by Inland Waterways Operators.”

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Sea Potential is hosting a workforce development opportunity in collaboration with the National Society of Black Engineers  on January 21st, 2026 from 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM for mid-high level engineers looking to find employment in the maritime sector.

As part of our Career Connect Washington Maritime Sector ongoing work, we actively track, document, and inform about emerging technologies and trends. Aluminum shipbuilder All American Marine Inc., Bellingham, Wash., on Wednesday hosted a keel-laying ceremony to mark the official start of construction on a series of new battery-electric vessels for San Francisco Bay Ferry. All American was awarded a $46 million contract in December 2024 to construct three of the 150-passenger vessels for San Francisco Bay Ferry, with an option for a fourth vessel.

In Part I, we explored the idea of establishing Washington as a single, interconnected maritime campus—linking people, programs, and opportunity statewide. Part II moves from concept to practice: how it works, what it looks like, and why workforce development is economic development.

Is Washington a fully connected maritime campus? Not yet. But the work has already begun. In this article, I’ll highlight how the model functions, and share two project examples - one scaling statewide, and one emerging—that demonstrate multiple approaches to the same central goal.

From Concept to Practice

Meeting Students Where They Are

A statewide maritime campus isn’t about creating new programs—it’s about connecting and growing what already exists. Across Washington, strong programs already prepare the next generation of maritime professionals. The challenge—and the opportunity—is to align them into a cohesive system that provides seamless entry and progression for learners.