The moment is right for a rebirth and transformation of the American Merchant Marine

By building a new American merchant fleet designed to deal with the environmental, human health, and security impacts inherent in moving goods and people by water in a climate constrained future – we can begin to address the anthropogenic climate, supply chain, and national security impacts of merchant shipping.

These ships will be locally built, from locally sourced and recycled materials, crewed with locally trained mariners, home ported along the Hudson, New York Harbor, and the canals, carrying locally grown, locally processed, and locally manufactured goods.  With liberty from fossil fuels, these future proof ships will be a positive disruption to the status quo.

However, the US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords and the Trump administration stepping back from addressing climate change as a national security issue creates a blind spot for US foreign and security policy, while ignoring  years of bipartisan support in Congress for addressing climate security risks and the decline of the American merchant fleet.

The Center for Post Carbon Logistics (The Center) and its colleagues have long been advocating for a rebirth and transformation of the American merchant marine to address the climate, supply chain, and national security impacts of merchant shipping.  However, with Federal funding out of the picture for the foreseeable future, we are reliant on a New York and Northeast US Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) strategy to “lead the charge.”  Your financial commitment now will enable us to complete foundational work to establish this fleet and the landside infrastructure to support it.  Our plans include but are not limited to:

With the initial phase of research and advocacy work well underway we are poised to “open the door” to ship design, mariner training, business planning, and active investment in a fleet of vessels to be built in Northeast US shipyards, that will lead to a fleet of operating near-zero-carbon ships along rivers, canals, and the coast – and very quickly to an expansion to other Jones Act protected shipping routes, such as Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to New York, and California to Hawaii.  These vessels range from a 39’ river and harbor schooner, an 80’ canal/river/coastal vessel, a solar-battery-electric canal and river barge, and a 200’ ocean-going break bulk and container sailing cargo schooner. 

Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to The Center today, to continue and expand on the work already accomplished.  Supporting our regional approach will open the door to a resilient and decarbonized future for the Northeast. Over the last year and a half, because of your generosity, The Center:

• Provided financial and public awareness assistance to the Schooner Apollonia for a 2024 cargo voyage.
• Provided assistance to the Hudson River Maritime Museum for an exhibit, The New Age of Sail.
• Was able to sponsor The Andrus Logistics Fellowship to tangibly grow the regional sustainable logistics network and strategize/collaborate for future growth of that network in the greater Hudson Valley and greater New York Harbor regions.
• Published peer-reviewed papers, laying out the groundwork for a green shipping future at the Sustainability in Ship Design and Operation (SISDO) Conference, where the audience of student naval architects responded with comments and questions about how this will affect their practice.
• Is working with a well-respected local naval architecture firm to create engineering materials for open source near-zero-emissions vessels and pallet-size containers.
• Recruited and is working with a team of four Sustainable Innovations MBA students for developing industry, market, financial, and business analysis of Sail Freight in the Northeast. The outcome of this collaboration will be a model business plan for startup and established near-zero-emission maritime cargo companies.
• Working with our operations associate, The Center has been an integral part of publishing the first edition of the International Windship Association’s Small Windships Publication in September 2024 and is assisting in developing the second edition for publication in September 2025.

Your financial commitment now will enable us to complete foundational work to establish a near-zero-emission American Merchant fleet, the mariners, and the landside infrastructure to support it.  Thank you.

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^[1] CliMax ships designed to maximize the reduction of climate altering greenhouse gases