When President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he had created a new White House office to “resurrect” American military and commercial shipbuilding, he elevated long-standing calls to fix the struggling industry that he said is vital to national security. His clarion call to build more ships “very fast and very soon” comes at a time of rising strategic competition with China.
“Our shipbuilding industry is shrunk down to bare minimum right now,” Marine Corps Commandant General Eric Smith told VOA in an exclusive interview at the Pentagon late last year.
The anemic state of American shipbuilding and ship maintenance, and the risks they raise for the military, was shared with VOA through more than a dozen interviews with U.S. military and industry officials spanning several months and conducted ahead of Trump’s announcement.
The U.S. Navy is still considered the most powerful in the world when it comes to firepower and tonnage, but the number of Navy ships has fallen behind China’s. The United States has 296 ships in its fleet, while China’s is on pace to surpass 400 ships this year.
Despite the U.S. Navy’s goal of increasing the size of its fleet, in recent years the number of ships has been shrinking. Last year’s budget funded just six new Navy ships, while decommissioning 15 from the fleet, for a net loss of nine. The fiscal 2025 budget plan funds six new ships while decommissioning 19, for a net loss of 13.
The lifeblood for maritime industry titans like British-based BAE, U.S.-based Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Fairbanks Morse Defense runs almost exclusively through the U.S. military. Industry leaders say they have the space to build and repair more ships but that Navy contracts have been scarce.
“We’re operating at half-capacity,” said Brad Moyer, vice president of BAE Systems Ship Repair. Although the company is one of the largest for ship repair in the United States, when VOA toured BAE’s Norfolk yard in Virginia in November, most of the docking spaces for ships were empty.
Shipbuilding demand has fluctuated wildly based on Navy budgeting strategies, creating an industry atmosphere of feast or famine that is shrinking the supply chain.
“There’s thousands and thousands of suppliers that have gone out of business, and it’s a real risk,” George Whittier, the CEO of Fairbanks Morse Defense, told VOA. The company is the largest engine manufacturer in North and South America and the sole company supplying the biggest engines used in the military’s amphibious warfare ships. Each engine is about the size of a small school bus.
“We should have two engine suppliers. But the reality is, if the Navy is only going to build six ships a year, it’s a struggle to keep one engine supplier in business, let alone two. We’re going to have to grow our way out of this, and that’s the only way we’re going to do it,” Whittier said.
He is not alone. VOA found multiple examples of companies that were the only supplier of specific ship parts. The U.S. military and other industry leaders say they are worried there will not be a backup for parts should more industry businesses go under. And those suppliers who have survived say when business is not steady, it takes longer to provide the parts, and it costs more to procure the materials.
Acting Vice Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jim Kilby, while advocating for a bigger fleet, says he has not had the budget to replace all of his aging ships and submarines, much less grow the force.
“When we get a new ship, we’ll replace an old ship, because that old ship is more expensive and harder to maintain,” he said in a recent interview.
