Opportunity Information: Apply for 693JF719R000025
America's Marine Highway Grant Program is a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Maritime Administration (MARAD) discretionary grant opportunity that funds projects under the America's Marine Highway Program (AMHP), also known as the Short Sea Transportation Program. The core idea is to grow the use of domestic waterborne transportation as a practical alternative to congested highways and other landside modes, by helping launch new marine highway services or expand existing ones. This particular notice makes clear that the Secretary of Transportation will only award grants to projects (or specific components of projects) that have already been formally designated by the Secretary as Marine Highway Projects under AMHP, meaning you cannot use this grant to get a new route designated in the first place.
Funding for this round comes from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2019 (Public Law 116-6), which provided $7,000,000 for AMHP grants. MARAD uses this notice to lay out what kinds of work can be funded, who can apply, what applicants must show in their application package, and what factors USDOT will use to rank and select projects. The opportunity is tied to AMHP regulations in 46 CFR Part 393, including updates that reflect statutory changes and reorganize the program rules to be easier to use.
Eligible applicants are limited and tied to the original designation paperwork. An applicant must be either (1) the original Project Applicant for a previously designated Marine Highway Project (generally the public entities named in the designation), or (2) a substitute applicant, which may be a public or private entity, but only if the original Project Applicant refers that substitute to the program office and includes a written explanation as part of the application. Applicants also need to have an operational or administrative area of responsibility that is adjacent to or near the relevant designated Marine Highway Project. The notice points applicants to MARAD's published list of designated projects (hosted on MARAD's Marine Highway website) because designation is a strict eligibility gate for this funding.
The grant is meant to pay for implementing designated projects or parts of them, with an emphasis on tangible service and infrastructure outcomes. Fundable activities must support the development and expansion of documented vessels (U.S.-documented vessels used in the service) and/or port and landside infrastructure needed to make the marine service work. Planning can be eligible if it is tied to a designated project component, but the notice draws a firm line against using these funds for planning studies whose purpose is simply to prove market viability; those market-testing studies are explicitly ineligible for Marine Highway grant funding in this round.
A major theme of the program is adding marine transportation where it is not being used much today, rather than reshuffling existing waterborne traffic. The notice states it is not intended to shift passengers or freight that already move by water onto a different water service. Instead, the goal is to expand marine options in corridors where cargo is currently moving by land, and where a water route is the better overall transportation option. This aligns with the broader AMHP purpose of promoting short sea shipping and improving system performance by reducing landside congestion and creating efficient alternatives.
The notice also reflects program rule updates influenced by the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016. Among other changes, the definition of AMHP-eligible cargo is expanded and clarified to include cargo shipped in discrete units or packages that are handled individually, palletized, or unitized, and it also recognizes freight vehicles carried aboard commuter ferry boats for transportation purposes. The regulatory language also simplifies terminology by using "Routes" instead of "corridors, connectors, and crossings," adds an expectation that project sponsors provide updates on project status, expands eligibility criteria for services and routes that can participate, clarifies how project designation criteria are applied, and reorganizes the regulations within 46 CFR Part 393.
To compete for an award, applicants must submit an application in the form, manner, and timeframe required by the Secretary, and they must make a business case that stands up to scrutiny. Specifically, applicants have to demonstrate financial viability, show that grant funds will be spent efficiently and effectively, and prove that a real market exists for the proposed service. The notice emphasizes that market demand should be evidenced through contracts or written statements of intent from potential customers, not just general claims. Financial viability is framed as sustainability within a specified and reasonable timeframe, meaning applicants need to show a credible path to operations that can continue without indefinite federal support.
Cost sharing is required. Applicants must provide at least 20 percent of total project costs from non-federal sources, so the maximum federal share is effectively capped at 80 percent unless otherwise allowed by law (the notice highlights the minimum non-federal match as a firm requirement). When USDOT makes selections, it must give preference to projects or components that are the most financially viable and that request the lowest percentage federal share. In practice, that means stronger applications tend to combine clear customer commitments, realistic operating and capital budgets, and a higher non-federal contribution relative to the total project cost.
Key opportunity details from the posting include: Opportunity Number 693JF719R000025; CFDA 20.816; Agency: Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration; Category: Discretionary; Instrument: Grant; Posting date July 23, 2019; and an original closing date of August 15, 2019. The notice lists an expected 50 awards, and it does not specify a per-award ceiling in the provided fields (award ceiling shown as 0), which typically signals that award sizes may vary based on project scope and available appropriations rather than a fixed maximum stated in that particular data field.Apply for 693JF719R000025
- The Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "America's Marine Highway Grant Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 20.816.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jul 23, 2019.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Aug 15, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 50 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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