Ballard Shipbuilder Joins Cantwell for Hearing on Reviving Commercial Maritime Industry

Ballard Shipbuilder Joins Cantwell for Hearing on Reviving Commercial Maritime Industry

The U.S. is falling behind on shipbuilding -- In 2022, the U.S. had only 5 commercial ocean-going ships under construction. China had 1,794.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, was joined by Tuuli Snow of Ballard shipbuilder Snow & Company for a subcommittee hearing on revitalizing our nation's commercial shipbuilding industry.

"If we do not…revive our shipbuilding capacity, our nation will not be able to compete at this particular moment in the Pacific. That puts our economy at risk, it creates a dangerous weakness in our national defense, so we must continue to protect the Jones Act, expand and streamline Title XI loan guarantee program, and modernize our infrastructure," said Sen. Cantwell.

"In the State of Washington, the maritime sector supports 174,000 jobs through maritime logistics, shipping, ship building, seafood, maritime transportation, and associated trades. In total, the sector supports $45 billion of economic revenue, and shipbuilding in particular [provides] good family wage jobs with an average salary of $120,000 -- can you imagine that? An average job," Sen. Cantwell continued.

During her opening remarks, Tuuli Snow discussed Snow & Company's success in recruiting and retaining maritime workers: "A lot of our growth has been due to a deeply innovative change that I have made in focusing on hiring from non-traditional avenues. We hire veterans, immigrants, refugees, individuals coming out of prison or starting work release and seek people from communities that have traditionally been overlooked or excluded from the maritime industry," said Tuuli Snow, who leads the company's development and recruitment. "I often say that I play for the maritime long haul, not just for our company, investing my time and energy into building a better industry, not just a better business."

Snow & Company is one of the last independent boat building companies in Seattle. Founded 20+ years ago on the Lake Washington Ship Canal, the business started as a one-man repair shop and now has grown to over 100 employees. Last year, Snow & Company built the first hybrid vessel for the U.S. Department of Energy. They are currently building first-of-their-kind electric tugs for a company in Long Beach, CA, in addition to holding a contract to build 53 work boats for the U.S. Navy.

In July, Snow & Company received $817,150 from the Maritime Administration [MARAD] Small Shipyard grant program to purchase a CNC press break and a deburring machine. In 2023, Sen. Cantwell successfully negotiated $30 million for the program, a 50% increase from FY2023 funding, and got it passed in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

During the Q&A, Sen. Cantwell asked Tuuli what that grant meant for Snow & Company: "For just this one specifically, we hired 15 to 20 more people, and then it has changed the track of other people's career paths, where they get to learn more and new, diverse things. It also would allow us -- if we received another -- would allow us to create our own in-house apprenticeship program, where we could allocate those funds specifically just for a teacher and educator," replied Snow.

The U.S. is significantly lagging in shipbuilding capacity. In 2022, China had 1,794 commercial ocean-going ships under construction, South Korea had 734, Japan had 587, Europe had 319, and the U.S. had only five. China, South Korea, and Japan construct more than 90 percent of the world's shipping tonnage; the U.S. builds only about 0.2 percent.

In April 2025, the White House announced an executive order as part of a new Maritime Action Plan (MAP) aimed at revitalizing U.S. maritime industries. While the order's plan has not yet been finalized, it provides an opportunity for bipartisan collaboration to grow the maritime sector, support the workforce, and improve industry competitiveness.

In 2024, Washington state imported $1.21 billion worth of steel and aluminum to support our major industries, including aerospace, shipbuilding, utilities, and electronics. When President Trump imposed steel tariffs in 2018, U.S. trading partners immediately responded by imposing tariffs of their own on Washington products, especially agriculture, including cherries, apples, pears, and potatoes. Domestic shipbuilders took an enormous hit from Trump's 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports announced earlier this year.

Video of Sen. Cantwell's opening is available HERE. Video of Tuuli Snow's opening remarks is available HERE. Video of Sen. Cantwell and Tuuli Snow's exchange is available HERE. A full transcript is available HERE.

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