AMIC Releases White Paper on Maritime Prosperity Zones Following National Webinar on U.S. Maritime Revitalization

WASHINGTON, DC — The American Maritime Industrial Coalition (AMIC), in partnership with SHIPPINGInsight and SuRe Strategy Group, has released a new white paper, “Mapping Maritime Prosperity Zones: From Regional Mobilization to National Coordination,” following AMIC’s April 23rd national webinar, “MAPping Maritime Prosperity Zones.”

The paper, authored by SuRe Strategy group’s Founder and CEO Dr. Beatriz Canamary, explores how Maritime Prosperity Zones (MPZs) can become a transformational framework for rebuilding America’s maritime industrial base through coordinated regional development, industrial investment, workforce expansion, and national security alignment.

The April 23 webinar convened leaders from across different sectors in the industry to examine how regions in the United States are preparing for implementation of the White House Maritime Action Plan (MAP) and the proposed SHIPS for America Act. Featured presenters included Port Commissioner Ryan Calkins of Port of Seattle, Geir Eilif Kalhagen of Texas Department of Transportation, RADM James Watson, USCG (Ret.), Dr. Beatriz Canamary, and Darren Shelton from Moran Shipping Agencies. Participants discussed how regional maritime ecosystems are organizing around shipbuilding, workforce development, supply chain resiliency, and industrial modernization ahead of anticipated federal action.

“Maritime Prosperity Zones are already taking shape across the country in the Pacific Northwest, the Gulf, the Great Lakes, and beyond, and the work of coordinating that regional momentum is well underway” stated Dr. Canamary. “This paper offers a forward-looking framework on the questions that matter most: how zones should be incentivized, how they should be structured geographically, and how they should be designed to deliver industrial outcomes.”

The resulting white paper expands significantly beyond the webinar discussion itself, offering a forward-looking framework for how Maritime Prosperity Zones could be structured to create measurable industrial outcomes rather than simply functioning as tax-advantaged investment districts.

The paper identifies several unresolved implementation questions surrounding MPZs, including how zones should be incentivized, how they should be geographically structured, and how federal policy can ensure long-term industrial viability rather than fragmented short-term investment.

One of the paper’s central arguments is that Maritime Prosperity Zones must be designed around industrial ecosystems and sustained vessel-class production rather than isolated one-off projects. The paper also argues that MPZs should move beyond a traditional Opportunity Zone-style incentive structure and adopt a salable federal tax credit model more aligned with the realities of long-horizon maritime infrastructure investment.

Regional specialization emerged as another major theme throughout the paper. Rather than attempting to replicate identical maritime industrial capacity across every region, the report proposes a “Regional Specialization Matrix” built around existing industrial strengths. Suggested focus areas include:

• Aluminum vessels, autonomous systems, and Arctic-capable designs in the Pacific Northwest;
• Energy-related vessels and heavy steel construction along the Gulf Coast;
• Icebreakers and inland-water platforms in the Great Lakes region;
• Naval and defense industrial specialization in San Diego; and
• Cruise, repair, and conversion capabilities in Florida.

The report further emphasizes that inland manufacturing regions and supplier networks must be formally integrated into MPZ development through designated Maritime Supplier Corridors, recognizing that the majority of modern vessel value originates upstream from the shipyard itself.

Energy and infrastructure readiness also emerged as a significant concern. The white paper additionally calls for innovation to become structural within MPZ design. Recommendations include integrating digital twin infrastructure, AI-driven production systems, robotics, additive manufacturing, and autonomous vessel technologies directly into shipyard modernization efforts. The report cites leading international shipbuilders already deploying these technologies at scale, warning that the United States cannot regain competitiveness by modernizing legacy systems incrementally.

As part of its next phase of work, AMIC announced plans to continue advancing the concepts introduced in the paper through additional convenings, coalition working groups, industrial capacity mapping efforts, and regional coordination discussions. A major follow-on discussion will take place during National Maritime Week 2026. SHIPPINGInsight, in partnership with AMIC will host a roundtable workshop, “Identifying the Ecosystem for Revitalizing the US Maritime Industry” on May 20 in Washington, DC, bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, and capital providers to further examine operational pathways and roadblocks in the industry.

The paper concludes that the success of the Maritime Action Plan will ultimately depend on whether the United States can create a coordinated industrial architecture capable of translating policy ambition into durable shipbuilding capacity, workforce continuity, resilient supply chains, and long-term maritime competitiveness.

The full white paper, “Mapping Maritime Prosperity Zones: From Regional Mobilization to National Coordination,” is now available here.

About AMIC

The American Maritime Industrial Coalition (AMIC) is an industry-led coordination platform focused on strengthening and operationalizing the U.S. maritime industrial base through strategic collaboration, industrial intelligence, workforce alignment, and execution-oriented maritime revitalization initiatives.

Media Contact:  Rachel McCloskey r.mccloskey@morganmarketcomm.com +1203 255 4686.