A National Call to Strengthen the Maritime Workforce

Winter is Coming...

Two stories in the news caught my eye over the last week, both of which pointed to serious issues in the maritime labor force. Do not get me wrong—we have SERIOUS issues as a nation across the labor force, particularly in skilled trades. But I am a simple man working on simple problems with the limited tools at my disposal, so I will concentrate on the maritime workforce. Bottom line: there are gaping holes in our maritime workforce, and those holes risk our global standing and security.

The Current Workforce Crisis

The first piece that first got my attention was this Justin Katz offering at Breaking Defense. Ingalls Shipbuilding, one of the nation’s premier shipyards, has ample space and capacity for shipbuilding, yet it faces a challenge in attracting and maintaining the skilled workforce necessary to meet the demands of increasing production​. This issue is not unique to Ingalls (the Navy’s Frigate program is several years behind schedule due to labor shortages at the shipyard in Wisconsin) but is reflective of a broader trend across the maritime industry. The decline in skilled labor, driven by factors such as an aging workforce, insufficient training programs, and a lack of new entrants into the field, threatens the ability of U.S. shipyards to keep pace with the Navy’s needs.

The second piece that got my attention was news of the Navy’s recent revelation that it may have to sideline 17 support ships due to manpower shortages​. To explain, these ships are not “combatants” in the traditional sense, manned by active-duty Navy Sailors. They are support ships operated by the Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC), and they are crewed by merchant mariners of a specific type, in that they are government employees rather than employees of a large commercial venture (and so are PAID wages that are at a competitive disadvantage with commercial wages). That said, make no mistake about it, when the shooting starts, these kinds of ships are among the most desirable targets for any opposing force, as they are crucial for maintaining the operational readiness of the fleet, providing essential support functions such as logistics, repairs, and medical services. The potential sidelining of these ships due to a lack of personnel is a stark reminder that the workforce crisis extends beyond the shipyards and into the operational capabilities of the Navy itself. Without skilled labor to build, maintain, and operate the fleet, the U.S. risks falling behind its adversaries in an increasingly contested maritime environment.

The decline in the maritime workforce is not just a problem for the present but a looming crisis for the future. Competition with near-peer rivals like China and Russia is intensifying. Both nations have made significant investments in their maritime capabilities, with China in particular rapidly expanding its naval fleet and shipbuilding capacity. The U.S. cannot afford to be complacent; it must invest in its maritime workforce to ensure it remains competitive on the global stage.

Proposed Solutions

The “Ur” problem here—like most things—is money. I know, I know. “We can’t spend ourselves out of every problem McGrath.” Granted. But we can make most problems less problematic by spending money. And we (the American taxpayer) need to spend more money. What do I mean?

Well, for starters, for the largest “building” yards in the United States there really is only one customer—Uncle Sugar. This is known as a “monopsony,” and it gives that customer IMMENSE influence over transactions. My tiny history-major brain tells me that if shipyard workers were paid better, there would be more of them. But do not go reaching for that “capitalist dog” pitchfork to skewer fat cat industrialists just yet, because how much the workers get paid is inextricably entwined in how much the federal government is willing to pay for ships. Margins in shipbuilding are NOT GREAT folks, with some evidence for this being the fact that there are few building yards (if you buy into all that capitalism stuff). And for those who believe that premiums paid by the federal government for increasing wages would go to profits and bonuses, I am here to tell you that there are few business relationships in existence where the customer has greater visibility into cost structure than in shipbuilding.

We need to spend MORE on ships in order to get MORE of them, and we need to spend MORE on ships in order to attract MORE workers to build (and fix, and upgrade and operate) them by paying them MORE than a Buc-ees cashier. Labor has options, and as long as the maritime industry option is insufficient, so will the labor supply.

Somewhere along the way, we became a society that told our young people that only a college degree mattered, that forty hours a week with the prospect of time and a half overtime and no CHANCE of bringing work home or having to respond to email/phone calls after hours was inferior to droning around in the modern meerkat warrens that pass for office spaces.

Additionally, as we turn increasingly to Electric Vehicles and their demonstrably lower maintenance requirements, it seems like young people who might ordinarily be attracted to working on cars might be enticed to work on ships.

I looked long and hard on the interwebs for a “Miller Beer” commercial or one like it that I grew up watching, commercials that showed rough men walking through a turnstile at the end of the day with metal lunch pails, headed to throw down a few malt-pops together before heading home to their comfortable middle class existences. I could not find the perfect one of my memories, but ones like it are there.

So, it really is not just money. There are other things that could help, things like a well-funded outreach and advertising campaign that makes a convincing case for this kind of work. Something like this, which is targeted at working on the submarine industrial base.

And now, for the policy suggestions:

Investment in Education and Training: The U.S. must invest in educational programs that encourage young people to enter the maritime industry, and not just along the nation’s coasts. This includes expanding vocational training, apprenticeships, and partnerships with community colleges and technical schools. By providing clear pathways into the industry, the U.S. can begin to rebuild its skilled labor force.

Incentives for Recruitment and Retention: To attract and retain workers in the maritime sector, the government and industry should consider offering financial incentives such as signing bonuses, student loan forgiveness, and demonstrably higher salaries. Labor shortages are to some extent, regional. If we were to offer tax credits to people to move in order to take a shipyard job, or cover moving costs in some other way, we could apply excess labor from one region to shortages in another. Finally, whatever bonuses are being paid to shipyard workers ought to be paid over time, guaranteed over a five-year period for instance, payable every six months. You get what you pay for, and what we are paying for is a smaller and less effective Navy.

Support for Veterans: Veterans possess many of the skills needed in the maritime industry, yet transitioning from military to civilian life can be challenging. A national policy should include programs specifically designed to help veterans transition into maritime careers, leveraging their existing skills while providing additional training as needed.

Public-Private Partnerships: The government should work closely with private industry to address the workforce shortage, and this is something our major shipyards and state governments are heavily committed to. Public-private partnerships can help align the needs of the Navy with the capabilities of the shipbuilding industry, ensuring that workforce development programs are targeted and effective.

The Cost of Inaction

Failing to address the maritime workforce crisis could have dire consequences for U.S. national security. A weakened shipbuilding industry will struggle to meet the Navy’s needs, leading inexorably to delays in ship construction and maintenance. As seen with the potential sidelining of support ships, manpower shortages directly impact the Navy’s operational readiness, reducing its ability to project power and respond to threats.

Moreover, the geopolitical landscape is shifting, with rival nations seeking to challenge U.S. dominance at sea. The U.S. cannot afford to let its maritime workforce atrophy while competitors strengthen their naval capabilities. The cost of inaction is too high; the U.S. must act now to secure its maritime future.