U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stood at Port Tampa Bay yesterday to announce two federal investments totaling more than $17.5 million: a $1 million small shipyard grant for Gulf Marine Repair and $16.5 million to help the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority build a new passenger ferry connecting Tampa and St. Petersburg. Duffy framed the money as part of a national push to rebuild American shipbuilding capacity, telling those gathered that great nations have to build great ships.
As reported by FOX 13 Tampa Bay, the news conference included Duffy, maritime executive Steve Carmel, and Port Tampa Bay CEO Paul Anderson. Carmel said the port has the foundations to expand shipbuilding capacity, while federal leaders pointed to Port Tampa Bay's potential to serve as a shipping hub for the Caribbean and Asia. Duffy also said the United States must build commercial vessels as well as military ships, tying the local award to a broader federal priority.
Gulf Marine Repair's Shipyard Gets a Makeover
The Maritime Administration is distributing the $1 million grant directly to Gulf Marine Repair Corporation, which operates a 50-acre shipyard along the Ybor Ship Channel with 3,200 linear feet of waterfront frontage, according to GovTribe. Established in 1988 under parent company Hendry Marine Industries, the yard regularly handles drydocking and overhauls for commercial tug-barge fleets and U.S. Coast Guard cutters, including past multi-million dollar contracts for the Reliance, Mohawk, and Venturous.
Per the Maritime Administration, the $1,007,678 award will fund utility upgrades across three berths in the yard's south slip to supply compressed air, water, and welding gases, along with two Cat 930 wheel loaders and a Skytrack telehandler. The grant also expands a training center with six multi-process welder systems and an eight-position ventilation system, supporting a welder training program that federal officials say aims to bring more workers and jobs to Port Tampa Bay. Officials have not provided a specific timeline for completing the equipment upgrades. This is not the shipyard's first federal boost: MARAD awarded Gulf Marine Repair a $997,678 grant in August 2024 to strengthen the facility's A.W. Hendry floating dry-dock, per GovTribe.
Part of a Nationwide Shipyard Funding Surge
Tampa's award is a slice of a much larger federal push. The 2026 MARAD Small Shipyard Grant Program distributed $35.18 million across 45 shipyards in 24 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands, a 300% funding increase following a presidential executive order aimed at rebuilding domestic commercial and defense shipbuilding, according to WorkBoat. These grants cover up to 75% of capital improvement costs for yards with fewer than 1,200 production workers and require matching local investment.
Port Tampa Bay's scale makes it an outsized player in that national picture. The port spans more than 5,000 acres and handles roughly 33 to 34 million tons of cargo annually — nearly 40% of all waterborne cargo moving through Florida — according to Port Tampa Bay. An economic impact study by Martin and Associates found the port generates $34.6 billion in regional economic output and supports more than 192,000 jobs, with average maritime salaries of $74,350 compared to Florida's statewide average of $55,980, per Marine Log. FOX 13 Tampa Bay reports the port now has three shipyards, including two with docks capable of berthing the biggest ships, and is pursuing extension and dredging projects to keep growing.
New Ferry Adds to a Growing Fleet
The other half of Monday's announcement addresses cross-bay commuting. The Federal Transit Administration awarded PSTA $16.5 million for its 2026 Passenger Ferry Grant, according to a PSTA statement cited by FOX 13 Tampa Bay, and the agency applied for the funding to build a brand-new 249-passenger ferry vessel. PSTA has already acquired two used ferry vessels, named Bay Breeze and Bay Clipper, and the new ferry will be built in addition to that pair. Officials have not provided a specific timeline for construction, though FOX 13 Tampa Bay notes the new vessel will take several years to design and build.
The ferry funding caps a fraught chapter for cross-bay transit. Hillsborough County commissioners terminated the previous Cross-Bay Ferry contract effective April 30, 2025, declaring the former operator in default after it proposed swapping its fast catamaran for a slower vessel that would have doubled crossing times, as Hoodline previously reported. In June 2025, the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority Board voted 8-3 to transfer $4.86 million in unused federal ferry grant funds to PSTA rather than let the restricted money leave the region. By December 2025, the PSTA Board had unanimously selected Hubbard's Marina — operating through Tampa Bay Sea Taxi, Inc. — under a five-year agreement to run the ferry, while also approving a contingent purchase of a 250-passenger vessel located in San Francisco.
Port Tampa Bay's momentum extends beyond Monday's announcements. The port began design work earlier this year on a fourth cruise terminal to handle roughly 200 additional cruise ship calls annually, part of an effort to keep pace with record passenger growth as one of the top eight cruise homeports in the country. Between the shipyard grant and the ferry funding, federal officials are betting that Tampa Bay's industrial waterfront and its commuter water transit can grow together.
