On the tide swell of current national policy efforts around advancing US maritime commercial interests (including the SHIPS for America Act and the Trump Administration's RESTORING AMERICA’S MARITIME DOMINANCE executive order, among others), MARAD has rolled out a series of working groups (WGs) as part “Center for Maritime Innovation” (USCMI), originally created as part of the 2023 James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act introduced to Congress in May of 2022. 

The USCMI's statutory directive (46 U.S.C. §50307) is “to support the study, research, development, assessment, and deployment of emerging marine technologies and practices related to the maritime transportation system.” A summer 2023 Federal Register notice (88 Fed. Reg. 51397 (Aug. 3, 2023) previewed the USCMI's aspirational areas of competency under the statutory remit:

• Facilitating the development and use of clean energy and necessary infrastructure to support the deployment of clean energy on vessels of the United States; 
• Monitoring and assessing, on an ongoing basis, the current state of knowledge regarding emerging marine technologies in the United States; 
• Identifying any significant gaps in emerging marine technologies research specific to the United States maritime industry, and seeking to fill those gaps; 
• Conducting research, development, testing, and evaluation for equipment, technologies, and techniques related to marine environmental protection; 
• Providing guidance on best available technologies; 
• Conducting technical analysis; assisting with understanding complex regulatory requirements; and documenting best practices in the maritime industry, including training and informational webinars on solutions for the maritime industry; and 
• Working with academic and private sector response training centers and Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education Centers of Excellence to develop maritime strategies applicable to various segments of the United States maritime industry, including the inland, deep water, and coastal fleets. 

Under this set of directives, the USCMI has since stood up multiple working groups (WGs) on a regional/geographic and topic-specific basis (administered through the American Bureau of Shipping as secretariat), to address various cutting edge and wide-ranging areas of advancement in the domestic maritime industry.

There are currently 8 regional WGs for (1) the Northeast/ Mid-Atlantic Coast; (2) South Coast / Caribbean; (3) Gulf / Gulf Coast; (4) Inland Waterways; (5) Great Lakes / St. Lawrence Seaway; (6) Pacific Northwest / Alaska; (7) California Coast; and (8) Pacific Islands.

The 4 initial topic-specific technical WGs include:

1. Maritime Energy, with a focus on the following:
   1. Operational Optimization
   2. Maritime Advanced Nuclear
   3. Integrated Port Energy
   4. Maritime Fuels and Energy Technology
2. Maritime Operations, with a focus on the following:
   1. Remote & Autonomous Functions
   2. Digitalization of Maritime Operations
   3. Transportation Corridors & Freight Flow Optimization
3. US Maritime Competitiveness, with a focus on the following:
   1. Ship construction and Sustainment
   2. Education & Workforce Development
   3. US Maritime Strategy
4. Maritime Resilience, with a focus on the following:
   1. Vessel-generated Underwater Radiated Noise
   2. Ship Mediated Aquatic Nuisance Species
   3. Marine Transportation System Risks

As these USCMI WGs continue their substantive work and outreach, they promise to provide unique opportunities for public/private partnerships and advancement of both national and industry-level maritime interests.

These various WGs are free to join and open to all industry stakeholders interested in advancing the American maritime industry. The USCMI has been holding initial kickoff meetings for the various WGs, which are set to continue through the summer. Anyone interested in joining a WG can sign up using the form on the USCMI's website.