ANNAPOLIS — Maryland wants a bigger share of the federal push to rebuild American shipbuilding and sea power, and a waterfront school in St. Mary’s County is one of the assets the state is pointing to.
Gov. Wes Moore signed an executive order Oct. 22 creating the Maryland Maritime Task Force, which will coordinate state agencies and businesses to pursue national and international maritime opportunities, both federal and commercial. The governor’s office said the state’s maritime industries contribute more than $10.2 billion a year to Maryland’s economy and support 115,000 jobs.
The order does not award money or create jobs on its own. Its first goal depends on Congress: positioning Maryland for a Maritime Prosperity Zone designation, an economic development tool proposed in the federal framework for America’s Maritime Action Plan that Congress has not yet created.
What the task force will do
According to the governor’s office, the task force will:
- Take the steps needed to secure a Maritime Prosperity Zone designation once Congress creates the program.
- Develop a plan with stakeholders to grow and diversify the state’s maritime economy.
- Identify barriers businesses and governments face in chasing national maritime work, and recommend legislative and regulatory fixes.
- Coordinate state and federal advocacy, including workforce training and grant programs.
- Recommend business incentives, tax credits and other tools to expand the industry.
U.S. Rep. Sarah Elfreth, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Maryland Commerce Secretary Harry Coker Jr. will co-chair the group. Members include the state departments of Commerce, Labor, Natural Resources and Transportation, the Maryland Military Department and the Maryland Economic Development Corp., plus seats for up to five government officials, the Port of Baltimore, the Maritime Technology Alliance, maritime industry, a research entity, a training program and a labor union or trade association.
“Maryland’s infrastructure is perfectly suited to lead the nation’s maritime industry, from building in-demand ships to creating positions for welders, mechanics, and engineers,” Moore said.
The Southern Maryland piece
Most of the announcement centers on Baltimore: the port, the Coast Guard’s planned $1.5 billion investment at its Curtis Bay yard and Anduril Industries’ $3.7 billion shipyard project in Baltimore County. But the governor’s office also named the Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship in St. Mary’s County among the training institutions behind Maryland’s maritime leadership.
The school sits on a 60-acre waterfront campus on St. George’s Creek in Piney Point and has trained mariners since 1967, according to a 2026 overview published by the U.S. Maritime Administration. It has trained more than 17,000 entry-level apprentices and 135,000 working mariners upgrading their skills. Its tuition-free, 18-month apprenticeship places graduates in entry-level jobs on commercial vessels, and it offers an associate degree in maritime operations technology through the College of Southern Maryland.
The school is also a major source of unlicensed crew for Military Sealift Command, the Navy organization that operates supply and support ships, and it lists the Defense Department’s SkillBridge program as a pathway for service members leaving the military. That makes it one of the clearest local links to the workforce goals in Moore’s order.
The release did not mention Naval Air Station Patuxent River, the region’s largest employer, or Southern Maryland’s charter fishing and boating industries. Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz said boating and fishing add more than $700 million a year to the state economy and are the largest piece of Maryland’s roughly $10 billion outdoor recreation economy, and he said the state looks forward to developing Maritime Enterprise Zones.
The Navy’s role in the task force is advisory. The order lists the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division in Montgomery County, the Coast Guard’s Curtis Bay command, the U.S. Naval Academy and the Army Corps of Engineers’ Baltimore District as possible collaborating partners.
“It’s time for Maryland to lead our country’s maritime industry once again,” Elfreth said.
The governor’s office did not set a deadline for the task force’s first recommendations or say when it will hold its first meeting. Any Maritime Prosperity Zone designation will have to wait for Congress to act.
