Fiscal Year 2026 United States Marine Highway Program (USMHP)

About this funding opportunity

The United States Marine Highway Program (USMHP), codified at 46 U.S.C. 55601, was originally established by Section 1121 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to reduce landside congestion through the designation of Marine Highway Routes. The USMHP statute authorizes the U.S. Department of Transportation (“Department” or “DOT”) to make grants to implement Projects or components of Projects that 1) provide a coordinated and capable alternative to landside transportation; mitigate or relieve landside congestion; promote Marine Highway Transportation; or use vessels documented under 46 U.S.C. chapter 121; and 2) develop, expand, or promote Marine Highway Transportation or shipper use of Marine Highway Transportation

Topic areas: Transportation and Mobility, Circular Economy and Sustainability.

Funding amount

This grant provides $1-$12M in funding, up to $12M per award.

Deadline

Applications are due Aug 31, 2026. Confirm the exact closing time on the official program page before applying.

Who can apply

This opportunity is open to the following applicant types:

• Other

Eligibility

a State, a political subdivision of a State or a local government; a United States metropolitan planning organization; a United States port authority; a Tribal government (as defined in Section B.5. of this notice of funding opportunity); a United States private sector operator of Marine Highway Projects or private sector owners of facilities, including an Alaska Native Corporation, with an endorsement letter from the current Marine Highway Transportation Route Sponsor (if there are multiple route sponsors, the private sector applicant is only required to submit an endorsement letter from one of the route sponsors).

Agency

Fiscal Year 2026 United States Marine Highway Program (USMHP) is administered by Maritime Administration (MA), listed via Grants.gov.