Trump’s policies against offshore wind power hit US shipbuilding and port industries
US shipbuilders and port operators are facing significant losses as a result of US President Donald Trump’s campaign to eliminate the offshore wind industry; Which caused the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in government support, the disappearance of shipbuilding orders, and the lack of vision for the future of investments estimated at billions of dollars.
This unintended impact represents a direct result of Trump’s policies towards the offshore wind industry, which included orders to stop work and review permits for giant projects launched by the administration of former US President Joe Biden as part of green investment programs, according to what Transmitted by the “Yahoo Finance” platform America.
Trump describes offshore wind energy as “an inefficient and distorting technology.” It harms whales and birds, despite being a staunch supporter of the American marine industry, which he considers an essential element in the global competition for trade and military dominance on the high seas.
Joe Orgeron, a Republican member of the Louisiana State House of Representatives and a former marine ship company owner, said: “He makes the opposite argument,” noting that the offshore wind industry was Responsible for many shipbuilding orders in recent years, before “unfortunately everything suddenly stopped.”
A group of representatives of ports, shipbuilding companies, and maritime trade groups revealed that the effects of Trump’s policy included canceling more than $679 million in government funding from the US Department of Transportation that was allocated to support ports working in wind energy projects, including a grant worth $34 million for the port of Salem In Massachusetts, which was expected to generate $75 million in taxes over 20 years and provide 800 jobs.
Orders to build ships dedicated to serving offshore wind projects, which are ships that transport workers and giant turbines to the sea or lay cables underwater, have also disappeared, according to the Oceanic group. Commercial, after an active 2024 that witnessed the launch of at least 10 new American ships for this purpose, and reports indicate that some existing ships are being sold or redirected to other regions around the world.
The Trump administration says it is able to revive the American shipbuilding and port industry, which has been suffering from cost inflation and weak government support for years, without the need for support from the offshore wind sector, and the Department of Transportation stated The American: “This administration will restore America’s maritime dominance by modernizing our ports and expanding shipbuilding capabilities to compete with China,” adding: “We are doing this quickly and efficiently, two qualities that are completely absent from offshore wind energy manufacturing.”
The decision of the giant Danish shipping company led "Maersk" This month, it canceled a $475 million contract to build a ship dedicated to installing turbines for the Empire Wind project. Off the coast of New York, this revealed the extent of the decline in demand for ships, as the Trump administration had suspended work on the project for a month at the beginning of this year, which caused a delay in construction operations.
Sea Trium Company said: Singapore, which is responsible for building the ship, is considering its legal options for the project, which is nearing completion. The boom in offshore wind projects in the northeastern United States in recent years has stimulated strong demand for such vessels, including those built in American yards or flying the American flag. Data indicate that the sector has attracted a total investment of $5.1 billion in ports and $1.8 billion in orders. Shipbuilding.
In court documents, US Wind said: The developer of offshore wind projects said that it was about to secure specialized ships for installation in its project in Maryland before the Trump administration’s moves to stop the project disrupted the schedule, explaining that such ships are booked years in advance, and that any delay threatens the implementation of the entire projects.
At the same time, some of the ships working in current offshore wind projects are sold, as Secor Marine announced: Based in Houston, in August, it sold two American “Lift Boat” ships, used in offshore wind farms, to the Nigerian oil services company “Jade Construction”. for $76 million, citing delays and cancellations.
American ports are also facing major repercussions, as Oceanic estimated… Last year, more than two dozen American ports were planning projects related to offshore wind energy, but most of them lost funding after the Department of Transportation canceled 12 grants with a total value of $679 million in August, affecting projects in the states of Massachusetts, New York, California, Maryland and Virginia.
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