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“Congress is interested in seeing us do it again” and she referenced building out the Ready Reserve Force or RRF vessels. This funding still needs to be cleared by the Of? ce of Management and Budget, but when those projects are ready to move it’s likely they will advance within the VMC framework.

Linares was asked about lessons that might transfer to or otherwise impact private sector shipyards.

The VCM concept, she said, is “re- ally nothing more than a commercial approach to shipbuilding that utilizes private sector shipyards to build as designed on schedule and at a ? xed price.” This was championed by the maritime industry, she explained fur- ther, as the best model because “it improves the U.S. maritime indus- trial base, from steel to suppliers, ship managers to ship builders, and creates new jobs for the American workforce.

Through the VCM model, we’ve learned a lot about U.S. shipbuilding capabilities and gaps.”

In closing, Linares said MARAD will work with the Department of

Transportation and Congress to strengthen U.S. shipbuilding and re- lated manufacturing. Additionally, she said that MARAD is looking at ways to increase U.S. ship repair capa- bilities and skilled labor through grant programs and helping vocational and technical training institutions. She’s hopeful that future MARAD ship- building projects like the NSMV will expand to additional shipyards.

“Nothing will support this critical industry more,” she wrote in a ? nal comment, “than a steady, predictable, long-term demand for commercial shipbuilding and repair capabilities.” www.marinelink.com MN 43|