National demand for new vessels is a huge economic opportunity for the Great Lakes Region, says Eric Oberhart, Transportation Program Director for the Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premieres which commissioned the report.
He says the region's manufacturing and automotive capabilities can easily transition to shipbuilding.
“Michigan is in an interesting and unique spot in in relation to some of these topics because the state has invested in better understanding how to support automotive supply chain conversion over for defense manufacturing. The state has been a leader in investing in smart and autonomous transportation technology demonstrations and things like that.”
Coastal states dominate the industry, but Oberhart points out the Great Lakes supply chain is home to 12,000 marine distributors.
“The shipbuilding industry is not just relevant to a few towns with shipyards or shipbuilding facilities, but really a wide range of communities across the area. And in the case of Michigan, it includes about 1,200 shipbuilding suppliers across the state.”
Infrastructure constrains vessel construction size.
Aircraft carriers are too large for St. Lawrence Seaway locks, but there are other opportunities.
“The construction of smaller autonomous and unmanned vessels, the construction of modular pieces of ships that could be floated through the St. Lawrence Seaway and then assembled at coastal yards, as well as focusing on work vessel sizes that do fit through the seaway, things like icebreakers, and other smaller vessels that aren't as large as some of these mega ships that we often think about.”
To win those contracts, Oberhart says the region’s top priority is raising awareness, and pitching its industrial potential to Washington.
A report of findings was shared at a July 21 webinar; links to the presentation and report are below.
More information about the Great Lakes maritime initiative is on GSGP’s website: https://www.gsgp.org/projects/maritime/
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