$2.3M in Federal Grants for Seward Shipyard Operators
A FARO 3D Laser Scanner scans a damaged barge to gather data for its repair at the JAG Alaska Shipyard in Seward.
Photo Credit: Alaska Business Archives | Stillwater Marine Services
Two Seward shipyard operators are getting some federal money to expand vessel-handling capacity, modernize equipment, and strengthen Alaska’s maritime infrastructure. The US Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded $1,405,113 to JAG Alaska and $916,223 to Catalyst Marine Engineering through the Small Shipyard Grant Program.
Working Waterfronts
The funding will enable Catalyst Marine Engineering to acquire advanced fabrication, welding, and material-handling equipment, and it will support JAG Alaska’s expansion of its rail system and acquisition of new carts and cradles to move vessels throughout the Seward Shipyard. More broadly, the grants are meant to strengthen Seward’s maritime capacity.
Current Issue
August 2026
MARAD Administrator Stephen M. Carmel says, “The Maritime Administration is deeply committed to supporting the vital maritime infrastructure of Alaska and delivering these grants is a direct reflection of our aggressive dedication to supporting Alaska’s working waterfronts. Through these grants totaling over $2.3 million for Catalyst Marine Engineering and JAG Alaska, MARAD is proud to invest in the equipment and infrastructure that will keep Alaska’s maritime sector efficient, competitive, and capable of sustaining good-paying jobs.”
Admiral Kevin Lunday, the 28th commandant of the US Coast Guard (USCG), visited Seward this week, partly to deliver the grant funds but mostly to celebrate the forthcoming homeporting of an icebreaker in Seward.
Coast Guard Cutter Frederick Mann was commissioned in May and is temporarily homeported in Kodiak until facilities in Seward are ready. Earlier this summer, the USCG awarded Wasilla-based Orion Construction a design-build contract valued at approximately $9.8 million for six housing units and one maintenance support building. The housing units, funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2022, are a key element of USCG efforts to homeport a Fast Response Cutter in Seward.
Earlier this summer, JAG Alaska secured a $100 million contract for the state-owned Ketchikan Shipyard that it operates, to overhaul a federal fisheries research vessel.
