Page 15: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 16, 2026)

That same theme carried into the Pentagon earlier this year, tion and environmental performance are not opposing goals; when several dredging company owners and chief executives they are increasingly integrated disciplines.

joined me for a meeting with Assistant Secretary of the Army Dredging policy is not a narrow industry issue. It is foun- for Civil Works Adam Telle. His message was direct: the dational to port competitiveness, shipyard workload stabil-

United States is engaged in a 21st-century competition with ity, energy security, coastal resilience, and national defense

China for economic leadership, and infrastructure is central readiness.

to that competition. He emphasized a focus on building in- The Gulf Coast provides a blueprint. Congress is engaging frastructure—not paperwork—and expressed full support for through WRDA. The Administration is emphasizing infra- using real science and adaptive tools to increase the number of structure delivery. Industry is investing in modern, U.S.-built workable dredging days where appropriate. vessels. States are re