Balancing Innovation and Tradition: A Conversation with Acting Maritime Administrator Sang Yi

Season 5 kicks off with Acting Maritime Administrator Sang Yi, bringing his merchant marine background, Navy Reserve service, and policy expertise to MARAD at a pivotal time. We discuss the success of the NSMV/VCM program, the rebirth of Hanwha Philly Shipyard, and how innovation and tradition can move together in U.S. maritime. With new FMC nominees, billions in shipbuilding investment, and the Maritime Action Plan deadline on November 5, momentum is building fast. 

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🚢 Season 5 of By Land and By Sea sets sail with Acting Maritime Administrator Sang Yi.

Since stepping into the role in June, Yi has been everywhere—listening, learning, and engaging with both familiar leaders and fresh voices across the industry. He brings a rare mix of merchant marine credentials, Navy Reserve service, and policy expertise to MARAD at a pivotal time for American shipbuilding.

In our conversation, we dig into:
 ⚓ The National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) program—multi-mission ships for training, disaster response, and more.
⚓ The Vessel Construction Manager (VCM) model—how MARAD partnered with TOTE Services and Hanwha Philly Shipyard to deliver vessels on time and on budget.
⚓ The rebirth of Hanwha Philly Shipyard—from 60 workers to 1,800, with a $5B expansion plan on deck.
⚓ Yi’s four-pillar vision: people, ships, cargo, and ports—balancing deep respect for tradition with disruptive innovation.

And the momentum doesn’t stop there. Since we last spoke:
 🔹 Two new FMC nominees, Laura DiBella and Robert Harvey, are awaiting Senate confirmation - potentially bringing the Commission back to a full roster of five.
 🔹 USTR’s Section 301 port fees take effect in October, reshaping costs for port calls depending on vessel build and operation.
🔹 The Maritime Action Plan—the capstone of the Executive Order on Maritime Dominance—is due November 5, setting the stage for what comes next.

It’s a packed fall for U.S. maritime—new leadership, new ships, new policies, and new investments all converging.

🎧 Season 5, Episode 1: Balancing Innovation and Tradition – A Conversation with Acting Maritime Administrator Sang Yi
👉 Listen here: www.TheMaritimeProfessor.com/podcast

💡 Engagement ask: Our first Just-in-Time Learning™ session is FMC vs. MARAD: What’s the Difference? What other mini-courses would be most useful for you? Share in the comments or send me a DM—I’d love your input.

#maritime #shipping #supplychain #FMC #MARAD #shipbuilding #ByLandAndBySea #TheMaritimeProfessor

Chapters

• 0:00 Season 5 Introduction
• 5:19 USTR Section 301 Port Fees
• 9:31 Introducing Acting Maritime Administrator Sang Yi
• 14:26 NSMV Program and Vessel Construction Management
• 23:10 Maritime Career Experience and Industry Challenges
• 28:46 Four Pillars: People, Ships, Cargo, and Ports
• 33:46 Innovation in Maritime and Looking Forward
• 37:50 Maritime Momentum and Industry Updates

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Ready to go?

Speaker 2: 0:10

You're listening to, by Land and by Sea, powered by the Maritime Professor. Season 5 is here and we are kicking things off with a big one A new look, new ways to connect and a special guest. We have Acting Maritime Administrator Sang-Yi on today. Welcome back to by Land and by Sea. We are in season five. We're so happy to have you here Again.

Speaker 2: 0:37

By Land and by Sea an attorney breaking down the weakened supply chain presented by the Maritime Professor. I'm Lauren Began, former FMC International Affairs Attorney and founder of the Maritime Professor. I'm Lauren Began, former FMC International Affairs Attorney and founder of the Maritime Professor and Squall Strategies by Land and by Sea is your go-to resource for navigating the regulatory side of global ocean shipping and me, I'm your favorite maritime attorney. I'm here to walk you through both ocean transport and surface transport topics in the wild world of supply chain. As always, the guidance here is general, for educational purposes only. It should not be construed to be legal advice and there is no attorney-client privilege to create or write this video or this podcast. If you need an attorney, contact an attorney. This is Plain Language, maritime, created so that anybody, not just lawyers or industry insiders, can understand what's happening in the world of shipping.

Speaker 2: 1:24

Let's dive into this week's episode because, as you know, ocean shipping moves the world. All right, as we start this new season, you know, I wanted to kind of take it back to my roots a little bit here. Why did I start the Maritime Professor? How did this all begin? So let me share a quick story about that. It didn't begin with a business plan. So let me share a quick story about that. It didn't begin with a business plan. It actually started more of a question. You know, I was on Twitter at the time I think X now. A few truckers were following me. I had done some engagements with Freight Waves, which was fantastic, and one of those truckers had asked me to explain some ocean shipping concepts. They reached out saying they didn't need me as an attorney through Squall Strategies, they just wanted somebody to break it down. Plain language answers Like what does this mean? And from that moment on, it just occurred to me we needed a venue for plain language conversations in maritime. And that's where the Maritime Professor was born, an education platform designed to make maritime and supply chain knowledge practical, accessible and easy to understand. And from our roots we're evolving again. You see it in our Season 5 launch. If you follow me on LinkedIn, we have a new logo, a new intro video, new focus on bringing you plain language breakdowns of the hottest topics in ocean shipping. Bringing you plain language breakdowns of the hottest topics in ocean shipping. But beyond that, we're adding to our course catalog, again based on feedback from you, the listeners. And speaking of listeners, we are so excited to welcome sponsors and partners this season. We've already rolled out a few and there's a few more in the works. Go check out the website, themaritimeprofessorcom slash podcast.

Speaker 2: 3:03

A huge thank you to the National Association of Waterfront Employees, nawi, the voice of the US Marine Terminal Operators and Stevedoring Industry in Washington DC, representing employers who keep cargo moving at America's ports. A thank you to Manifest Vegas, a premier future of supply chain and logistics summit, held every year in Las Vegas this year February 9th through 11th 2026, at held every year in Las Vegas. This year, february 9th through 11th 2026, at the Venetian. Also thank you to Nessie Consulting, a maritime innovation firm that helps companies bring high tech solutions into the blue economy, from commercial shipping to maritime defense. And also, finally, a thank you to Squall Strategies. That's my law firm, my strategic advisory firm, where I help clients navigate US ocean shipping regulations, engage with the FMC and align business strategy with policy developments. This support helps us bring insightful content to you every week and we are so thrilled to be building these partnerships as we continue into season five.

Speaker 2: 3:58

This season we're also rolling out Just In Time Learning. It's our newest offering, built for fast-moving supply chain professionals. These are meant to be short, plain-language sessions, as you love, 30 minutes or less that deliver exactly what you need right when you need it. They're going to be rolling out in two formats, so watch for this. We're going to have live webinars where you can join me in real time. The first one kicks off next week the FMC vs Merit. It's our first live webinar. It's September 18th at 1 pm US Eastern Time, fmc vs Marriott being a compare and contrast. What do they each do? But we're also going to have content rolling out on-demand courses that you can take any time at your convenience.

Speaker 2: 4:37

And, of course, some things don't change. The by Land and by Sea podcast remains the core of what we do here at the Maritime Professor, alongside our corporate trainings, our Port and Harbor Commission briefings and onboarding programs for industry and professionals. All of this change helps us better focus on the continued promise, and that is maritime regulations and supply chain policy doesn't have to be complicated. They can be explained in plain language so that anybody, not just lawyers or insiders, can understand and use them. That's the true vision of the Maritime Professor and we're so happy you're here with us.

Speaker 2: 5:10

Well, let's dive in. A lot has happened since we last spoke and we wrapped Season 4. And before we get into our guest, I wanted to cover a few things. One in particular I want you to keep your eye on this. We're probably going to be doing an episode on this, but that is the USTR Section 301 port fees. They are set to begin October 14th. I'm already seeing news start to bubble up about it, but you need to be watching this.

Speaker 2: 5:35

So, section 301 USTR port fees what is it? A quick briefer. So, starting October 14th, like I said, these are going to be new port fees under the Section 301 authority of USTR, the United States Trade Rep, that they're going to be applying to vessels that have a connection to China and I say connection, we'll get into that in a minute, but the fees are based on net tonnage and are designed to reduce the reliance on Chinese-built and Chinese-operated ships. They're trying to impact behavior, purchasing decisions on whether to buy Chinese-built or not, based on these fees and the deference of vessels that have a Chinese connection to them and to the United States market and, within these vessel routes of ocean carriers, prioritizing the US market with non-Chinese-built vessels. So what exactly is going on here?

Speaker 2: 6:26

Right, we have Chinese built vessels that are being targeted, chinese operated vessels that also have fees on them, and then we have a third category of non-China built and non-China operated. So the more China presence, roughly speaking, the more China presence a vessel has, the higher the fee right. So, built in China, operated by China, that's the highest fee you're going to find. Built in China but not operated by China? Or operated by China but not built in China, that's going to be a mid-level fee.

Speaker 2: 6:57

Neither built nor operated in China. That's going to be your lowest fee or maybe even exempted from the fees. So the key exceptions here that I think that you should also note container ships under 4,000 TEUs exempted from this. Us flags or US owned vessels with majority US ownership also exempted Short sea shipping. So voyages about 2,000 nautical miles, like trade, to the Caribbean or Canada, also exempted.

Speaker 2: 7:22

So this is not legal advice, this is just educational discussion and I want you to take a deeper look. Why does this matter? You may or may not see importers, or you may or may not, if you're an importer, see these fees passed through in carrier invoices. Already we're seeing messaging saying that we're not going to see some surcharges. I believe CMACGM just said that they weren't going to be issuing a general surcharge on this, but this could be a fee that gets passed to the carrier, not necessarily their fault, right? They bought these vessels a few years ago, 20 years ago, so this is supposed to be changing behavior going forward. So all that to say, we'll see how the surcharges happen, if they happen, if the charge itself gets passed through. But what I want you to do is get informed. I want you to go check out. In some of those shipping information documents you can find the vessel name, the actual vessel name, in there. Check out that vessel name, google search that vessel name, see where that vessel was built. The more you know, the better prepared you can be for when we do likely who knows how it'll actually be applied, but likely get into discussions and potentially disputes on the pass-through of some charges. So all I'm saying here is there are going to be fees assessed based on the kind of level of Chinese built or operated the vessel is itself. Go check out those routes. Go check out what vessels that your cargo is moving on on those routes. Check out what vessel your cargo specifically when it came in or going out but it's really a coming in thing what vessel name it was on, and just Google it. Find out where that vessel was built. I want you to stay informed. All right Season five. Premier guest.

Speaker 2: 9:20

We have acting maritime administrator Sang Yi. He's only been in this role since June but I've already been impressed with how much messaging has been coming out of Marad. Acting Administrator Yi is making it a point to get out there. He's listening, he's learning, he's taking not only to the usual players but also new voices in the industry. I was actually able to chat with Sang at the State of Maritime, christening one of the brand new NSMV vessels. The conversation itself was rich in content but due to the challenging audio environment at the event, unfortunately the recording wasn't quite good enough for a podcast. I'm going to be showing little snippets. If you're watching on the video, you can see there it is. We had the conversation. It was beautiful. The vessel was in the background. Oh, I'm still learning, aren't?

Speaker 2: 10:03

I but here we go. We have a re record. He was so generous to be able to sit down. We were actually able to go into a little deeper of a discussion, but before we get into that conversation, I want to make sure that we're all on the same page, as I always do. There's a little bit of alphabet soup that I want to decode. So we have five of the six state maritime academies are getting brand new training ships. So we have five of the six state maritime academies are getting brand new training ships. They've already received a few, but instead of making these only for the academies as they were being built, these ships are being purposely built for multiple missions.

Speaker 2: 10:37

So when I say NSMV, or when you hear that acronym, it stands for the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel, and that's what it is. It's a vessel built for multiple missions also relating to national security. So NSMV National Security Multi-Mission Vessel when you hear it, yes, they'll train cadets, but they're also designed to step in during disasters, moving cargo, housing first responders, even serving as floating hospitals. Multi-mission is the whole point here. So when we say NSMV, that's what we mean. It's a vessel that can do more than one thing. It was built to do so, okay, nsmv we also often hear VCM right after when we're talking about NSMV. So NSMV National Security Multi-Mission Vessel, vcm Vessel Construction Manager. It's basically a new way of handling shipbuilding at MARAD and it really is a novel idea. Instead of the government managing the builds, marad bid it out and brought on a private company, in this case Tote Services, to manage the project. So Tote is the Vessel Construction Manager, vcm. So, as the name suggests, they manage the construction of the vessel. Vcm Vessel Construction Manager. They oversee the actual construction happening at the Hanwha Philly shipyard of these NSMV vessels, these National Security Multi-Mission Vessels in Philadelphia and now you know NSMV, vcm the alphabet soup, it's just multi-purpose vessels these national security multi-mission vessels in Philadelphia and now you know NSMV, vcm the alphabet soup, it's just multi-purpose vessels being overseen in a public-private partnership, right? So why does this matter? Why is this model important? Because it's actually working. These ships are being delivered on time and on budget Vessels and, beyond that, keeping this work at Hanwha Philly Shipyard sustains US shipbuilding capacity and US shipyard jobs, both critical if we want to maintain and strengthen maritime power here in the US.

Speaker 2: 12:33

So please enjoy my conversation with Sang, as we've been getting to know him better. I've come to find him to be very personable and what feels like a real desire to get things done. He's bringing innovation steeped in tradition, making sure to keep both sides in view, new ideas for the future, while respecting the rich history of US maritime. So, with that context in mind, let's jump into my conversation with Acting Maritime Administrator Sang Yi. Today we have a very special guest, our first guest of the new season, acting Maritime Administrator Sang Yee. Acting Administrator Yee was appointed to this role in June less than three months ago and he's been hitting the ground running, bringing with him a deep mix of maritime, national security and policy expertise.

Speaker 2: 13:17

Administrator Yee is a graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy, where he earned his third May Unlimited Tonnage License.

Speaker 2: 13:23

He serves as a Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy Reserve, of which he's been a part since 2003. He holds a JD from the George Washington University School of Law and a Master's in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College Before Merritt. Acting Administrator Yee spent many years on the Hill in the House of Representatives as a senior level staffer, recently as director of investigations on the House Committee on Homeland Security, but also investigative and policy roles in committees of both national security, natural resources and oversight, and government reform. In 2018, he was even elected as councilman of Fairfax, virginia. How cool and early in his career impressively, I might add he served as a maritime analyst and rose to executive officer of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. Now that's a career blending maritime defense, intelligence and policymaking, and now he's at the helm of MARAD at a pivotal moment for American shipbuilding. So, without further ado, let's welcome Acting Maritime Administrator Sang Yee to the by Land and by Sea podcast. Thank you for being here today.

Speaker 1: 14:27

Good morning Lauren. Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2: 14:30

You know, and I believe this is your first podcast ever Is that right? Certainly in the maritime space.

Speaker 1: 14:35

It is. This would be my first podcast as the acting administrator here and it's a pleasure to see you again. I know we've spoken before, but I think it's important that people kind of hear what's going on in Merritt so glad to be out.

Speaker 2: 14:51

That's right. Well, welcome to the world of podcasting. We're so happy to have you here and you've been doing such a great job getting the message out, so let's jump right in. First, thank you for the generous invitation to attend the christening of the state of Maine. It was an incredible day, I have to say. Our friend of the show, sal Mercogliano, also expressed his appreciation for the invite. He spoke about it in his recap video of the day, but he was so sad to miss it.

Speaker 2: 15:13

But that day really felt like a milestone. You could feel the energy permeating throughout the whole environment. We already had NSMV ships under construction and two had already actually been delivered, but this was the first one out of the Hanwha Philly shipyard. Having Hanwha involved To see that yard grow from, I think what I've heard was it was around 60 employees to over 1,800 is such a success story and with two more NSMV vessels on the way, it feels like the real momentum is building. So what does this mean for the industry? What's the significance here and how do we replicate this kind of success With fewer than 60 change orders, which is unheard of? Let's talk a little bit about the Vessel Construction Manager model too, and why is it proving to work so well?

Speaker 1: 15:54

Well, first of all, I always keep telling people in this job that we have four focus areas at Merit and since I've been here, I've been focusing on people and ships, cargo and ports and in each of those areas I think that the NSMB program really encapsulates that well. We talk about people, we talk about maritime workforce development and growing our maritime workforce, licensed and even the tangential industries associated with shipbuilding. The maritime industry is a rather large and vast industry and I think we haven't really shared that information as an industry publicly. But I think when you talk about the NSMB, what a great promise of a future where we're training young people to become licensed mariners and join this industry and also, in the meanwhile, having this robust shipbuilding agenda benefiting from this program as well. And, man, I can't be more enthusiastic about the Vessel Construction Management Program.

Speaker 1: 16:56

I think my time in this job so far, going to the Hill talking to policymakers. Tons of people are so excited about the VCM model. They think it's an incredible model and should be proud of it. You know we've saved hundreds of millions of dollars and years of timeline because of it and I think it's the way of the future. We've proven that it could work. Hopefully we have another shot at proving it, that it will continue to work.

Speaker 1: 17:21

And my main thing is that, as I said before at the christening, which was quite an event, is that it really marks a new era in maritime. I know an issue is a third to be christened, but at the same rate, like you mentioned, philly Hanwha, the first time I visited them, they did tell me about an instance where you would go into a warehouse and there was literally one person with a broom just sweeping the floor and they said we think that they may have just placed that person to show that there was some activity. But you go there now it is a lively hopping place, full of jobs, full of apprentices learning, people in the industry, growing and training. This is how you build and this is how you rebuild a maritime industry.

Speaker 2: 18:06

That's right. It really was so full of life. And this BCM model right. So it's Vessel Construction Manager model. And this is where Merit. It was a really novel idea to pair with a private operator with shipbuilding experience to oversee the build. In this situation it was Tote Services. Tote managed the contract, worked directly with Philly Shipyard and kept things on schedule and within budget. Like you said, it's been called really the best practice example of how government and private industry can work together to actually deliver those results. And so this NSMV vessel is a really unique model to the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel, a fleet of these five new training ships being built. It really is such a fantastic thing to see that we will have these NSMV vessels coming online. And let's talk a little bit about the value of these NSMV vessels. Right, it's something that the cadets are going to be able to train on. What does having a purpose-built vessel mean compared to the old training ships that they had relied on for years?

Speaker 1: 19:05

Well, these NSMV vessels as the name suggests, national Security, multi-mission Vessels. They will also be used for emergency readiness and preparedness and response, which is an incredible thing. I actually think I don't know if you've gotten a chance to go on board on one of them, but they have a RO-RO aspect to it. They have some other cargo aspects to it. It is a dual decks for the cadets to be able to train on, and this is cutting-edge stuff. I think a lot of the equipment on there is pretty high-end. It's a wonderful opportunity. When we were at this christening there, I met a bunch of the cadets there too, from American, and I thought about how excited they were to have this new training equipment coming to their school soon. And then I thought about how many other young people will see this and think, wow, I want to go to a school where I can train on a vessel like that. Or maybe they won't realize it's a vessel. They'll still say I want to go beyond that, I want to be a part of that, and I think that's another incredible thing that the NSMB program is bringing to us. It's not just the training, it's not just the emergency readiness or response, but it's also a great recruitment tool.

Speaker 1: 20:23

And when we talk about again people, ships, cargo and ports, you can build all the ships you want. You don't have the cargo for it. You're not going to have a demand for the ships. But let's say you do have the ships and the cargo. You still need the manpower to man these ships and right now, the way that we have our trajectory going for our hopes and dreams and ambitions, we will not have enough mariners.

Speaker 1: 20:45

We need to get to the work of training more and frankly, even right now you see a lot of companies where people are working a lot more than they want to because they just don't have enough mariners to rotate in and out. That's not good. That's not a good thing for our workforce. It's another reason why I work a lot and discuss a lot with labor, because I mean, they're partners here and that's kind of my overall thing too is I just want to make sure that the industry and those out there they know that Marriott's going to be a partner. Now. We're not here to bear down on them. By law, we're literally mandated to help foster, develop and promote the maritime industry of the United States and that's what we're here for and we're going to partner with everybody we can.

Speaker 2: 21:30

That's right and that's so important to hear too.

Speaker 2: 21:32

And you know, you were a young cadet at one point too.

Speaker 2: 21:34

You've been in their shoes, a King's Pointer, and for our listeners, the US Merchant Marine Academy run by AmerEd is commonly known as just that King's Point, right the town where it's located. Through that experience you actually went to sea enough to get your third May Unlimited Tonnage Merchant Marine License, which is fantastic to see an actually licensed mariner in this role. And you're also a Navy Reservist, so you understand better than most, I'd say, the intersection of both defense and commercial interests. And that's the part that is so important to me and I think in many others in the industry to see somebody who understands the commercial shipping side in your role and not just the military defense shipping interest. It's an important balance because MARAD finds itself in the same position, simply by the jurisdictional authority, balancing commercial interests with military readiness, like the ready reserve fleets. So in recognizing that, you've kind of lived that balance. Talk to me a little bit more about your time at sea, both as a cadet and perhaps in your Navy experience taking you out to sea, if it did.

Speaker 1: 22:28

Sure Well, first of all, I mean there's no doubt that our merchant marine and their national security are inextricably linked.

Speaker 1: 22:36

I mean, anybody who reads anything about history will understand that. But I do like to differentiate, for a lot of policymakers too, that there's a big difference between commercial shipbuilding and Navy shipbuilding. Sometimes that conversation, or sometimes those ideas get lost in the conversation. I think many times people think well, we're building great ships, we're building all these Navy ships, and they don't think about the container ships, they don't think about the tankers, they don't think about the row rows, they don't think about the breakball ships or even the specialty ships or barges. Right, and so part of my job, I feel, as though, to go and help educate and inform not just the public but policymakers in Washington what those differences are. And these are very pivotal and key differences. And as someone who was a licensed mariner and also a Navy reservist, I understand the intersection between both. And in fact you know, my very first job, or I guess my internship, was at the Maritime Administration when I was a midshipman at Kings.

Speaker 2: 23:36

Point Cool.

Speaker 1: 23:38

I always thought I wanted to go to law school. So I asked them if I could do an internship at a law firm and they said no, no, you're going to have to go to a shipping company or something like that or some maritime industry. And I found about well, I knew about MARAD since I was an 18-year-old because it's been part of my life in one way or another, and I asked if I could go there and be an intern in the office of the chief counsel. So that was my very first internship and it's pretty incredible that, you know, almost a quarter century later I'm back here. But I've also, as a Navy reservist, been PACAD certified. So I've been on a turbo activation on one of our ready reserve fleet ships and taking one out as the PACAD advisor officer and got to see up close a lot of the issues at hand.

Speaker 1: 24:27

We have a pretty aging fleet, as everyone is pretty well aware. That recapitalization of the fleet I think is imperative. But the whole model of how we do the NDRF is also something that we need to put close scrutiny on. We want ships to be active, we want them to be effective and purposeful for the taxpayer, and when we say that we want these ships to be ready. We want them to be effective and purposeful for the taxpayer. And when we say that we want these ships to be ready for the Navy when they need them, some of these ships, I mean we're talking 50, 60-year-old vessels. They're well past their lifespan and the engineers and the skeleton crews who are on there operating and maintaining them, they do a great job. But there's only so much you can do with a vessel. That's that age sometimes. So that has to be a broader conversation. That is something that is talked about in Washington, but we need to make sure we get that right Because, again, everything with maritime you know, you asked about my time as a cadet, one of the things I always remember.

Speaker 1: 25:24

I was on the bridge as a deck cadet and I remember we were going in and out of a pilot's area and the way that the pilot was commanding the ship. I thought this is so slow. You know, when my very first ship I remember being on the bridge I'm like everything moves so slow on the ship. But the funny thing is is like it's actually not moving that slow and if you don't make those movements and maneuvers correctly right now, you're pretty much it's fait accompli for you in a bad way. So one thing I kind of always remember about that experience was in the maritime world especially probably true for life. You make your decisions now and you suffer the consequences, good or bad, later.

Speaker 1: 26:09

This industry I think we're at this pivotal moment. If we don't take advantage of it right now, we will suffer even harder later. We already are suffering. These are things of impacts from not just one person, but policy decisions, geopolitical reasons, economic reasons, all these factors. All of these things happened decades and decades ago and, frankly, when I think back to my time as a midshipman and now, a quarter century later, some of these conversations, they're not unfamiliar to me because I've heard them since I was 18. The same people are talking about the same things with the same solutions. We're getting the same results. So I think that's what's so amazing about what President Trump has done with his executive order.

Speaker 1: 26:57

I think that's what's so amazing about this vigor that Secretary Duffy has brought to the maritime industry. We are changing things, we're going to be innovative, we're going to do things differently here, and that's part of my goal too, as my time here at the Maritime Administration is talk to different people, find out some different ideas. Let's go thinking outside the box here too. I know the maritime industry is steeped in tradition and culture and we want to be respectful of that. As a fellow mariner, I get it. At the same rate, we need to move into the future. We're losing. We're losing to China, we're losing to other countries. We don't want to do that. That's a terrible way to go. If we don't fix that now, if we don't course-correct right now, you know my children, my grandchildren, they're going to suffer the consequences and we don't want that.

Speaker 2: 27:47

That's right, and I think you're so, so right in saying that these are some of the same conversations that have been happening for decades now, and that's why the maritime industry I think we all felt it this spring, when there was so much inertia, so much momentum, so much excitement for what comes next. I think that that's a fantastic view of we should respect the traditions but also let's move it all forward. And I think everybody continues to be on board and I think that that christening symbolized kind of all right, we're getting to work, we're moving. Let's start celebrating and let's start moving the ball forward. You know, so you've talked about the four pillars people, ships, cargo and ports being how we're going to lead and how we're going to win, and certainly the people and the ships pillars are gaining momentum, especially with this NSMV vessel and workforce training that it brings. But a lot of my listeners are shippers and so some of the most immediate touch points for them are the cargo and the ports. So how does Marriott keep those pillars moving forward as well?

Speaker 1: 28:47

Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 28:47

I think that's such a pivotal part. We keep talking about building ships. If there's no demand for them, what are we building them for? So I think, again, shippers have not been traditionally as incorporated into this conversation as it should be, and that's something that I really want to change. I think the shippers and the customers they are the demand.

Speaker 1: 29:08

There's a lot of different policy ideas out there, including incentivizing shippers to use US flag. I think that's wonderful. I mean it's not an innovative approach. It's just we haven't really done it. We deal with government cargo. We have some here and there, but there's a lot of carrots that we can use and not just sticks, and I'm hoping to see a lot of that. But in my conversation so far with some shippers, I think there's a willing appetite to be part of the solution here. I actually this is incredible because you think that this has to do a lot with dollars and cents because they're businesses, but there's also a lot of patriotism involved here, and to appeal to their patriotism about why this industry is so important and why our intermodal transportation system is part of our not just economic strength but national security and people understanding that these shippers I think that's a fabulous thing. I think that's incredible to harness and use that to move forward. Think that's incredible to harness and use that to move forward. That's definitely on the cargo end Right now. I know Hanwha Valley announced that they were going to build 10 MR tankers, jones Act tankers. With that Some people say, well, where's the cargo? We need to figure that out, because I love the fact that there's this initiative to build ships and there's excitement to build ships and this excitement, but if we don't have the same level of enthusiasm for understanding how to provide the cargo and create that demand, we're cruising for a prison. So, but that and to me also that's the same part.

Speaker 1: 30:39

You mentioned the four, my four pillars, I guess the ports right now, you know our ports, they're, they're aging some of these ports, whether it's just infrastructure or whether it's ability to expand the ports. Right now, you know our ports, they're aging Some of these ports, whether it's just infrastructure or whether it's ability to expand their capabilities. They need more investments and I think they've been left behind. And part of this is a discussion point. You know, in the United States nobody really knows what the merchant marine is and I thought this was fascinating.

Speaker 1: 31:07

On my second day on the job, I was meeting with the new director general of the Danish Maritime Authority and I thought, man, everybody knows what maritime is in Denmark, right, because it's a global brand.

Speaker 1: 31:20

Everybody knows that name, right?

Speaker 1: 31:23

And incredibly, he started telling me that one of his biggest issues in this country is workforce development and mariner retention and recruitment.

Speaker 1: 31:32

I said how is that possible? So you know the young people, they just don't know what the, what the merchant marine is or what the maritime industry does. This is a major problem, seriously, thank God for President Trump and his EO, because without that EO, this conversation wouldn't have been sparked. So I take it as my responsibility to keep the foot on the gas pedal to make sure that that excitement doesn't wane and we keep talking about it and the rest of the country understands what the value of a strong and robust maritime industry is and what the merchant marine country understands what the value of a strong and robust maritime industry is and what the merchant marine and what the merchant mariners do, how they get their sneakers on their kids feet, how they how they get their you know, groceries, grocery stores, nice and full, like all of this, but that's, that's something that, uh, I I take as a severe and solemn responsibility that that's a job of mine here to make sure the public is aware as much as possible.

Speaker 2: 32:31

That's wonderful and I think that that's so important that I mean of course you do, but that you get it right like that. You get it that you understand because you've been a part of it and you've shared the similar frustrations of the maritime industry not quite moving as forward as we all have wanted it to, and so I think that you're exactly right with the excitement is palatable. Everybody's ready to keep moving forward and I love that you are not afraid to put your foot on the pedal and to move it forward and to be the leader that the maritime industry has been looking for. So that's wonderful. I also like that you've been having an eye toward the innovation side I've often talked about.

Speaker 2: 33:11

You know there's kind of two different types of shipbuilding. We have the F-150, that's this reliable, general, typical model, the historical version, but then we also have, I think, something new and bold and different and it looks like you're leaning into that a little bit by really tapping into the innovation side. I've often said it's kind of F-150 versus the Cybertruck. Last month you were at FedSupernova, which is not your typical maritime conference, but it was a stage full of defense tech startups and entrepreneurs, and so for my listeners who might not know. Can you explain a little bit what FedSupernova was and then tell us why was it important for Mered to be there?

Speaker 1: 33:47

Sure, they reached out to me asking me if I would speak on a panel and the panel's title was called Ship Happens and I thought that was kind of quirky. But as I looked more into this event, it was really a gathering of just tons of young startups and most of them in the tech industry, and I thought has this relevant to what I'm trying to do here? And as I was reading through some of the potential attendees and speakers and pitches that they were making, I thought this is exactly it. This is exactly what we were talking about about trying to not be complying to the same discussion points and the same people over and over again. So one of the things that I realized was, when I went there, these innovators they might not have so much of a maritime background and some ideas were incredible, some ideas were just wild and some ideas were probably bad and of course I say that and then that one's the one that's going to turn into a billion-dollar company, right. But I was thinking, how do we harness this enthusiasm, how do we harness this creativity into our maritime industry? So I was so glad to be there and make this contact with so many of these entrepreneurs. Then we exchanged ideas of how things could work in the maritime industry and they started using their ingenuity to immediately on the spot.

Speaker 1: 35:13

Some of them were saying, well, I think we can do that, I think we can figure this out, even if it was like barge building.

Speaker 1: 35:20

I mean, there was some incredible stuff going on there and it reminds me, like, like I have two young children, and sometimes when you talk to young children, even though they may not know about a lot of things, they have some of the best imagination possible on earth.

Speaker 1: 35:37

I think that imagination dwindles as we get older and you know, sometimes I pose problems to my children and they they come up with the wildest ideas and I thought I would have never thought of that. And that's some ways like these young entrepreneurs who are not a part of the maritime industry. Because they're not part of the maritime industry, they think so much out of the box. Our minds are more confined to. No, that's not how that works, because this industry does this. That's an important knowledge and wisdom to have at times, but doesn't always breed the most creativity. And so my theory is we can merge that expertise and industry wisdom with this newfound imaginative and creative environment. We might have something really beautiful here and that could be the way of the future. So I want to include everyone as much into this conversation as possible.

Speaker 2: 36:27

That's right and I think that's so important. When you remove the shoulds and you allow people the opportunity to take risks and to potentially fail but then also potentially soar, that's the difference, right. The kids don't have those shoulds in their mind, they're just able to think creatively and find solutions. This has been such a wonderful conversation. Thank you so much for your time today and sharing your perspective and your personal journey with us. It's been a real honor hearing about the successes and the accompanying momentum of the state of Maine, christening the vision for the US shipbuilding and your focus on people, ships, cargo and ports. We'll all be watching closely as MARAD continues to push forward, and I know that my listeners appreciated getting to know you a little bit better too today. So thank you very much. Acting Administrator Yee.

Speaker 1: 37:11

Well, thank you so much, Lauren. I appreciate what you do and appreciate all those involved in this conversation. This is a conversation that is not just long overdue but imperative to our survival, and I take this responsibility extremely seriously because, like I said, without a robust merchant marine one day, without a maritime industry that we can be proud of, we are going to pay horrible consequences. And so I'm sounding the alarm. People have sounded the alarm. We have to respond now.

Speaker 2: 37:44

Well, thank you very much for your time.

Speaker 1: 37:46

Thank you.

Speaker 2: 37:50

I hope you enjoyed that conversation as much as I enjoyed having it At the end of last season, I want to remind you. So you know, when we were talking at the end of season four, I said that it kind of felt like the maritime momentum was starting to wane. I was a little bit concerned. The maritime momentum was starting to wane, I was a little bit concerned. I was starting to feel a little bit of messaging from the community that maybe I don't know, just look, I think we're back. I think we're back. I was hopeful that maybe it was just a summertime slowdown, maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Look, I'm refreshed, I'm feeling it. I'm feeling that we are refreshed in the fall, ready to get back to work. Look, between Sang's excitement and action-oriented approach, he's actually getting out there, going to atypical conferences, going to innovative conferences, not just your traditional maritime. We also recently had the announcement of two new Federal Maritime Commission nominees, lori DiBella and Robert Harvey, which, once they're confirmed by the Senate, that'll bring us back to a full slate of five commissioners. Look, we have vessels being built, this state of Maine NSMV vessel rolling out Investment commitments, like the day of the christening, a $5 billion pledge from Hanwha, philly Shipyard, to expand the shipyard and boost US shipbuilding. This is real movement. This is exciting. Maybe the summertime slowdown wasn't that, it was the summertime buildup and I think we're going to keep seeing it. I'm excited. I think that we're going to have an active September and October. And look, we also have the Maritime Action Plan deadline on the horizon, november 5th. That's the capstone from the Executive Order on maritime dominance. It ties the threads together. I'm really excited for a jam-packed fall and I walked away from this conversation with acting administrator Yi hopeful right.

Speaker 2: 39:37

I really was inspired by his perspective, especially his focus on infrastructure, shipbuilding and the role of the US maritime talent. He's personable, he's pragmatic and he's thoughtful. Innovation steeped in tradition, keeping new ideas and our rich history both in view that balance is exactly what's needed in the US maritime right now. It also reminded me why I started the maritime professor in the first place. Like I said, to make maritime policy approachable and available to all, not just those who have been in the industry forever. Don't worry, it's for us too, it's for both. Getting good ideas to the table starts with everybody being on the same page.

Speaker 2: 40:13

And speaking of approachable, our first Just-in-Time Learning mini course is coming up A quick compare and contrast of the FMC versus MARAD, something we often talk about here on the podcast, but now in a short focus session jam-packed with information you can actually use. I'd love to know what other mini courses would you like to see in this Just-In-Time Learning Series. I've already had a few requests come in since announcing it on LinkedIn. Keep them coming, send me a message or drop me a comment, so these short sessions hit exactly what you need to hear. And a quick reminder we're now taking sponsorships and partnerships.

Speaker 2: 40:47

If you or your organization want to connect with this audience, reach out at info at themaritimeprofessorcom. So if you liked this episode, be sure to follow, subscribe and leave a review. Want to go deeper on these topics or bring this kind of insight to your team? Visit themaritimeprofessorcom to explore corporate trainings, tailored briefings and on-demand webinars, all designed to make complex maritime regulations practical and easy to understand. If your organization needs help navigating the legal or strategic side of ocean shipping, head over to Squall Strategies. That's where I provide consulting services, regulatory guidance and policy support for clients working directly with the FMC and across the global supply chain. As always, this podcast is for educational purposes only and not legal advice. If you need an attorney, contact an attorney. So until next time, I'm Lauren Began, the Maritime Professor, and you've just listened to, by Land and by Sea. See you next time you.