Grants
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The first round of Marine Highway Grants were awarded in September 2010. Since that time, Congress has periodically appropriated funds for subsequent rounds of Marine Highway Grants. Notices of Funding Opportunity are published in the Federal Register when grant funds are made available. Click Here for the latest Notice of Funding Opportunity for America’s Marine Highway Projects.
The Office of Ports & Waterways Planning encourages sponsors and partners that have previously received Marine Highway Project Designations to respond to Marine Highway Grant solicitations. When applying, Project applicants should ensure all information requested in the Notice of Funding Opportunity is included in the grant application. Applications are generally submitted electronically through Grants.gov.
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America's Marine Highway Grant FY22 Notice of Funding Opportunity Webinar
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Frequently Asked Questions for Grants
Additional Resources
America’s Marine Highways are supported in several ways, including reports and publications from government and academia, and through non-funding assistance for Marine Highway Routes and Marine Highway Projects. Contact the Office of Ports & Waterways Planning at MH@dot.gov for more information on any aspect of the Marine Highway Grant Program.
America’s Marine Highway Grants
American Marine Highway Grant Map
| No. | Applicant | AMH Designation | Grant Award | FY | Funded Elements |
| 1 | Itawamba County Port Commission | Tenn-Tom Freight Project | $1,766,070 | 2010 | Sponsored by the Tennessee – Tombigbee Waterway Development, the grant was awarded to purchase material handling equipment and make yard improvements to create a Marine Highway Service between the Port of Itawamba, MS, and Mobile, AL. |
| 2 | The Port of Virginia | James River Container Expansion Project | $1,100,000 | 2010 | The grant was awarded to purchase a barge to start a container on barge weekly service between Richmond Marine Terminal and Hampton Roads. |
| 3 | Baton Rouge / New Orleans Ports | Baton Rouge–New Orleans Shuttle Service | $1,758,595 | 2016 | The grant was awarded to purchase barges needed to start a new service to collect empty containers in Memphis, and transport them to Baton Rouge, LA, to meet customer demand for chemical industry exports. |
| 4 | The Port of Virginia | James River Container Expansion Project | $476,748 | 2016 | The grant was used to buy a generator to include on barge refrigerated and frozen products supporting the development of new customers by expanding the service. |
| 5 | New York/ New Jersey Port Authority | New York Harbor and Container and Trailer on Barge | $1,632,296 | 2016 | The grant was awarded to purchase material handling equipment, build infrastructure to improve barge operations, and create two crane operator training centers. |
| 6 | Northern Virginia Regional Commission | Potomac River Commuter Ferry Project | $173,361 | 2016 | The grant was awarded to support planning efforts focused on the development of a new commuter ferry service in the National Capital Region. |
| 7 | Port of New Orleans | Baton Rouge–New Orleans Shuttle on the M-55 | $2,507,200 | 2017 | The grant was awarded to purchase material handling equipment for efficient loading and unloading of container-on-barge operations to the New Orleans France Road Terminal. |
| 8 | Quonset Development Corporation | Davisville/ Brooklyn/ Newark Container on Barge Service | $855,200 | 2017 | The grant was awarded to purchase material handling equipment for a bi-weekly barge service between the Port of Davisville in North Kingstown, RI, and Red Hook Container Terminals in Brooklyn, NY, and Newark, NJ, for New England bound containers. |
| 9 | The Port of Virginia | James River Container Expansion Project | $456,000 | 2017 | This grant was awarded to purchase material handling capacity at the Richmond Marine Terminal to expand barge service in Virginia between Richmond and Hampton Roads. |
| 10 | New York City Economic Development Corporation | New York Harbor and Container and Trailer on Barge | $298,423 | 2017 | The grant was awarded to fund a planning study to analyze the marine highway services expansion throughout the Northeast Region from New York Harbor to other points. |
| 11 | Connecticut Port Authority | Cross Sound Ferry Enhancements | $503,927 | 2017 | This grant was awarded to support the expansion of the dock and shore side infrastructure for the Cross-Sound Ferry. |
| 12 | Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority | Paducah-McCracken Riverport Container on Barge Service | $251,927 | 2017 | The grant was awarded for an 18-month container-on-barge services that would stretch across three states and three Marine Highway Routes. |
| 13 | SEACOR AMH | Baton Rouge–New Orleans Shuttle on the M-55 | $3,155,622 | 2018 | Sponsored by the Port of New Orleans, the grant was awarded to purchase purpose-built vessels that will increase the viability of the service between the two ports. |
| 14 | James River Barge Line | James River Container Expansion M-64 | $1,822,093 | 2018 | Sponsored by Virginia Port Authority, the grant was awarded for the acquisition of a third barge to expand the existing service on the M-64 route. |
| 15 | Houston Port Authority | Houston Gateway & Gulf Container-On-Barge Central Node | $180,000 | 2019 | The grant was awarded to support the development of an Operational Plan that provides the necessary data to establish a business case to move container by barge between terminals. |
| 16 | Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority | Wallops Island M95 Intermodal Barge Service | $96,425 | 2019 | The grant was awarded to design a new trestle and combination dock/ramp to support the loading and unloading of rocket parts, equipment, and any other accessory pertaining space launch from barges and research vessels at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS). |
| 17 | Port of Monroe | Lake Erie Shuttle | $1,101,735 | 2019 | The grant was awarded to support the purchase, installation, and training associated with the use of a crawler crane. |
| 18 | The Port of Virginia | James River Container Expansion M-64 | $189,840 | 2019 | The grant will be used to purchase equipment in support of the existing James River Expansion Project between Richmond and Hampton Roads. |
| 19 | Paducah-McCracken County Riverport Authority | Paducah-McCracken Riverport Container on Barge Service | $480,000 | 2019 | The grant was awarded to purchase or lease material handling equipment to load and unload containers at the Baton Rouge facility. |
| 20 | SEACOR AMH | Baton Rouge–New Orleans Shuttle on the M-55 | $1,040,000 | 2019 | Sponsored by the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, the grant was awarded to purchase six purpose-built barges and lease one towboat to transport containers. |
| 21 | Washington State Department of Transportation | Seattle-Bainbridge Island Ferry Service | $1,500,000 | 2019 | The grant was awarded to convert from diesel to hybrid one of the two ferries used in the Seattle-Bainbridge Island Ferry Service, resulting in a significant reduction in emissions. |
| 22 | Port of Morrow | Port of Morrow M-84 Barge Service Expansion | $1,623,200 | 2019 | The grant was awarded for the expansion of barge services from Portland, Oregon, to Vancouver, Washington, and to enhance the Port of Morrow barge capacity. |
| 23 | Ocean Highway and Port Authority of Nassau County | M-95 Fernandina Express Container on Barge Service | $1,291,800 | 2019 | The grant was awarded to purchase material handling equipment essential for the efficient loading and unloading for the Fernandina Express container barge service between the Port of Fernandina and the Port of Charleston. |
| 24 | America’s Central Port District | M-35/M-55 Container on Barge Service | $1,268,800 | 2020 | The grant was awarded to purchase material handling equipment and security equipment for container on barge movement to the St. Louis area on the M-55. |
| 25 | Ports of Indiana | M-70 Barge Service in the Ports of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Beyond | $545,136 | 2020 | The grant was awarded to establish a new storage facility and support expansion of its existing Marine Highway service between Nucor Gallatin in Ghent, KY, and the Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville, IN. |
| 26 | Nucor Steel Corporation | M-70 Barge Service in the Ports of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Beyond | $2,363,800 | 2020 | Sponsored by OKI (Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments), Nucor Steel Corporation at Brandenburg was awarded a grant to support the retrofit of two casino barges to move containers along the M-70 route. |
| 27 | SEACOR AMH | Baton Rouge-New Orleans Shuttle of the M-55 | $778,350 | 2020 | Sponsored by the Port of New Orleans, SEACOR AMH was awarded a grant to provide permanent dunnage fabrication and installation in barges to support the continued growth of the container shuttle service between Memphis, TN, to Port Allen, LA. |
| 28 | US Coastal Service Inc | M-95 New York Harbor Container and Trailer-on-Barge Service | $308,000 | 2020 | Sponsored by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, the grant was awarded for planning, permitting, and engineering studies required to start operation in the New York City Region. |
| 29 | Red Hook Container Terminal, LLC | New York Harbor Container and Trailer-on-Barge Service | $148,664 | 2020 | Sponsored by The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the grant was awarded to purchase low-emission yard tractors to support barge operations in the New York and New Jersey Harbor. |
| 30 | Tidewater Barge Lines, Inc | Port of Morrow M-84 Barge Service Expansion | $3,200,000 | 2020 | Sponsored by the Port of Morrow, the grant was awarded to support the procurement of a container on barge service to expand from the Port of Morrow in Boardman, OR, to Vancouver, WA. |
| 31 | Port of Pago Pago, American Samoa | Port and Landside Infrastructure Improvements/Port of Pago Pago American Samoa | $943,000 | 2020 | The grant was awarded to purchase material handling equipment and dock rehabilitation to expand inter-island service. |
| 32 | Stevens Towing | North Carolina Container on Barge Operation | $1,015,000 | 2021 | Grant funding will be used for an equipment upgrade project, which includes the purchase of a crawler crane, two spreader bars, and a forklift. |
| 33 | NUCOR | M-70 Barge Service in the Ports of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Beyond | $1,408,000 | 2021 | Grant funding will be used to support the acquisition of a Buy American-compliant bridge crane at the new marine terminal in Gallatin County, Kentucky. |
| 34 | Red Hook Marine Terminal | New York Harbor & Container and Trailer on Barge | $1,470,000 | 2021 | Grant funding will be used to modify a deck barge. |
| 35 | SEACOR AMH | Baton Rouge-New Orleans Shuttle on the M-55 | $847,500 | 2021 | Grant funding will be used to purchase one hundred container chassis; modification to the towboat wheelhouse; and one bareboat lease of a new 2520 horsepower Z-Drive towboat with Tier 3 engines |
| 36 | The Port of Virginia | James River Container Expansion | $3,048,363 | 2021 | Grant funds will be used to improve lighting within the perimeter of the Richmond Marine Terminal (RMT) |
| 37 | Young Brothers | Hawaii Commercial Harbors System Shipping Services | $200,475 | 2021 | Grant funding will be used to purchase ninety-nine forklift scales. |
| 38 | Chambers County Texas Improvement District #1 | Chambers County – Houston Container on Barge Expansion Service | $3,000,000 | 2021 | Grant funding will be used to purchase two purpose-built barges. |
| 39 | Delaware River & Bay Authority | Cape May – Lewes Ferry | $600,000 | 2021 | Grant funds will be used to develop a master plan for a new, modern, efficient, and cleaner ferryboat. |
| 40 | South Jersey Port Corporation | Mid-Atlantic Barge Service | $1,010,800 | 2021 | Grant funds will be used to acquire two American-made, low-emissions reach stackers for the Balzano Marine Terminal at the Port of Camden, NJ. |
Last updated: Friday, May 13, 2022