DOTs Maritime Administration Provides Advice of Assistance to Small Shipyards Grant Program

The period for submitting grant applications, as mandated by statute, commenced on December 16, 2009 and will terminate on February 16, 2010. Scroll down to see Winston & Strawn's Client Briefing on the program. AGENCY: Maritime Administration, Department of Transportation, Office of Shipyards and Marine Technology. ACTION: Notice of Small Shipyard Grant Program Key Dates: The period for submitting grant applications, as mandated by statute, commenced on December 16, 2009 and will terminate on February 16, 2010. The applications must be received by the Maritime Administration by 5 p.m. EST on February 16, 2010. Applications received later than this time will not be considered. The Maritime Administration intends to award grants no later than April 15, 2010. Funding Opportunity: Section 54101 of Title 46, United States Code, and the section entitled ‘‘Assistance to Small Shipyards’’ in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (Pub. L. 111–117), provide that the Maritime Administration shall establish an assistance program for small shipyards. Under this program, there is currently $14,700,000 available for grants for capital and related improvements for qualified shipyard facilities that will be effective in fostering efficiency, competitive operations, and quality ship construction, repair, and reconfiguration. ($300,000 of the $15,000,000 appropriated for the program is reserved for program administration.) Such grants may not be used to construct buildings or other physical facilities or to acquire land unless such use is specifically approved by the Maritime Administration as being consistent with and supplemental to capital and related infrastructure improvements. Grant funds may also be used for maritime training programs to foster technical skills and operational productivity in communities whose economies are related to or dependent upon the maritime industry. Grants for such training programs may only be awarded to ‘‘Eligible Applicants’’ as described below but training programs can be established through vendors to such applicants. Award Information: The Maritime Administration intends to award the full amount of the available funding through grants to the extent that there are worthy applications. No more than 25 percent of the funds available will be awarded to shipyard facilities in one geographic location that have more than 600 production employees. The Maritime Administration will seek to obtain the maximum benefit from the available funding by awarding grants for as many of the most worthy projects as possible. The Maritime Administration may partially fund applications by selecting parts of the total project. Read the full docket by clicking HERE. Click HERE to read Winston & Strawn's Client Briefing on the matter.