Demand for civilian mariners could soon rise because President Trump and some in Congress want to revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding industry.Video by Lexi Parra For The New York Times

Mariners Wanted: Six-Figure Salaries and Months at Sea

Demand for civilian mariners could soon rise because President Trump and some in Congress want to revitalize the U.S. shipbuilding industry.Video by Lexi Parra For The New York Times

By Peter Eavis

To report this article, Peter Eavis traveled to Galveston, Texas; the Eastern Shore of Maryland; and Kings Point, N.Y.

The United States could soon need a lot more people like Nicole Caputo, who works as an officer on American cargo ships.

“It was either this or art school,” said Ms. Caputo, who has worked on 10 vessels since graduating from New York’s state maritime college in 2018. “I was younger, and I was like, ‘Oh, that sounds exciting,’ so I gave it a shot.”

There are few American mariners today because only a small proportion of international commercial shipping is done with vessels flying under the American flag, meaning they are registered in the United States, follow the Coast Guard’s regulations and employ American citizens. The jobs pay well, but often require people to be away from home for months at a time.

Demand for civilian mariners could soon rise because President Trump and a bipartisan group of legislators in Congress want to revitalize the American shipbuilding industry and counter China’s rise as a commercial shipping power. The United States made 38 large commercial vessels in the past decade, compared with over 7,500 produced by Chinese shipyards, according to BRS Shipbrokers.

Legislators have drafted a bill that would provide subsidies for a fleet of new American vessels for international trade that would have to have American officers and engineers. Roland Rexha, the secretary-treasurer of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association, a union for merchant marine officers, said the fleet would require thousands more American crew members.

Mariners can earn over $100,000 and get as much as six months of paid leave a year. The pay was what initially attracted Ms. Caputo, 29, to working at sea. “I can afford to take care of myself and my family fairly well,” she said.

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Peter Eavis reports on the business of moving stuff around the world.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/11/business/merchant-marines-shipbuilding.html