Trump’s Offshore Wind Crackdown Sends Shockwaves Through U.S. Shipbuilding and Port Industries

The Trump administration’s aggressive campaign to dismantle the offshore wind industry is rippling through U.S. shipyards and ports, wiping out hundreds of millions in government support and halting new vessel orders — threatening the future of a once-promising industrial revival. Interviews with 13 port operators, shipbuilders, and trade groups reveal widespread disruption from President Donald Trump’s rollback of offshore wind initiatives launched under former President Joe Biden’s green investment policies. Industry leaders say the fallout underscores a contradiction: while Trump champions U.S. maritime dominance, his anti-wind policies are crippling the very sectors he claims to support. “He has a counterproductive argument,” said Joe Orgeron, a Republican Louisiana lawmaker and former offshore vessel business owner. “That all came to a sudden halt, unfortunately.” More than $679 million in Department of Transportation grants for ports supporting offshore wind have been canceled, including $34 million for Salem, Massachusetts — a project expected to generate 800 jobs and $75 million in tax revenue. The Humboldt Bay project in California lost $426.7 million, likely delaying its completion until 2035. Meanwhile, vessel orders have evaporated. Danish shipping giant Maersk scrapped a $475 million contract for a turbine installation ship after Trump’s stop-work order stalled Equinor’s Empire Wind project. Other companies, including Houston-based Seacor Marine, are selling off U.S.-flagged vessels once used for wind projects to foreign buyers. Rhode Island’s Blount Boats — once a pioneer in wind crew transfer vessels — has halted production entirely. The U.S. Department of Transportation insists it can “restore America’s maritime dominance” without offshore wind, pledging to modernize ports and shipyards to compete with China. Critics, however, call this unrealistic given that offshore wind had already spurred $5.1 billion in port investments and $1.8 billion in vessel orders, according to trade group Oceantic Network. Even ongoing projects face uncertainty. US Wind’s Maryland facility, designed to produce steel components for wind and shipbuilding, risks bankruptcy if federal permits are revoked. Still, some local leaders hope the administration reconsiders. “Trump has always talked passionately about steel,” said Jim Strong of the United Steelworkers union. “I want to believe there could be a change of position.” For now, however, the sector is in limbo. Projects from New York to Virginia are being scaled back, rebranded, or abandoned altogether. Salem’s mayor, Dominick Pangallo, summed up the prevailing sentiment: “It’s realistic to look at the current landscape and see that this industry is going to be deeply challenged by the current administration.”