Elfreth to co-chair Maryland maritime task force built around a zone program Congress has not created

By Philippa Langstrom

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.) will co-chair a new state task force meant to position Maryland for federal shipbuilding and port money. The first item on its list depends on federal legislation that Congress has not passed.

Gov. Wes Moore (D) created the Maryland Maritime Task Force by executive order and named Elfreth and state Commerce Secretary Harry Coker Jr. as co-chairs, the governor’s office announced Oct. 22. The order is posted on the governor’s executive orders page.

The task force’s first assignment is “completing the necessary actions to secure a Maritime Prosperity Zone designation for the state once Congress acts to create the program,” according to the governor’s release. Moore’s office said the “federal framework for America’s Maritime Action Plan presents potential for Maritime Prosperity Zone designation in Maryland.”

The federal piece

The main maritime prosperity zone bill in the House is H.R. 9911, the Shipbuilding Investment and Workforce Act. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) introduced it on July 23 with Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), and it was referred to the House Ways and Means Committee. The bill would let maritime prosperity zones be designated as qualified opportunity zones, which carry federal tax benefits for investors.

The proposal was left out of the House defense authorization bill, The Waterways Journal reported on Sept. 4. Advocates told the trade paper that a year-end tax package or a reconciliation bill could still carry it. A maritime attorney quoted in the same story said its omission from the defense bill did not bode well for passage this year.

Sang Yi, president of the American Association of Port Authorities, told The Waterways Journal that his group “supports the Trump administration’s efforts” and applauded Kelly and Moran for “championing Maritime Prosperity Zones and the construction of U.S. shipyards.”

What the task force will do

Under the order, the task force will also:

• develop a plan to advance and diversify the state’s maritime economy;
• identify barriers to winning national maritime work and recommend legislative and regulatory fixes;
• coordinate state and federal advocacy, including workforce training and grant programs; and
• recommend state incentives and tax credits for maritime industries.

Members will include the state departments of Commerce, Labor, Natural Resources and Transportation, the Maryland Military Department and the Maryland Economic Development Corporation. Also on the list are the Port of Baltimore or the Port of Baltimore Alliance, the Maritime Technology Alliance, industry, research and training representatives, and a labor union or trade association. The Navy’s Carderock Division, the Coast Guard’s Curtis Bay command, the Naval Academy and the Army Corps of Engineers’ Baltimore District may serve as partners, the release said.

“I have spent my first two years in Congress and on the Armed Services Committee fighting to bring back shipbuilding, invest in Coast Guard Yard Baltimore, and redevelop Curtis Creek,” Elfreth said in a statement on her House website. She said the panel would take “inspiration from what once was – back to the Baltimore clippers and the hundreds of Liberty ships built during World War II.”

The numbers the state is citing

The governor’s office said Maryland’s maritime industries contribute more than $10.2 billion a year to the state economy and support 115,000 jobs. It pointed to Anduril Industries’ planned $3.7 billion Arsenal-2 shipyard in Baltimore County, which the state says could support up to 14,000 jobs. It also cited a planned $1.5 billion Coast Guard investment in the Curtis Bay Yard. These are the state’s figures; The Washington Inquisitor has not independently verified the job estimates.

Transportation Secretary Katie Thomson said the Port of Baltimore handled the most containers and ship calls in its history in 2025. She also noted that double-stack rail service began this year after the $495 million Howard Street Tunnel project was completed.

Elfreth’s defense portfolio

The appointment adds to Elfreth’s work on the Armed Services Committee. On Oct. 7, she led two letters, one from members of the panel’s cyber subcommittee and one from the Maryland delegation, asking appropriators to keep an $11 million increase for U.S. Cyber Command, according to her office. The money would fully fund a provision she secured in last year’s defense bill requiring cleared mental health professionals at Cyber Command operating locations. Signers included Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks and Reps. Vindman, Raskin, Ivey, Hoyer and McClain Delaney.

Elfreth, a first-term Democrat, faces Republican Berney Flowers on Nov. 3 in Maryland’s 3rd District, according to the House Clerk’s nominee list.

The Washington Inquisitor sought comment from Elfreth’s campaign, the Maryland Department of Commerce, the governor’s office and the American Association of Port Authorities. This story will be updated with any responses.