U.S. Naval Power at Risk? Inside America’s Shipbuilding Crisis

Episode 98 of the At The Boundary podcast, hosted by Global and National Security Institute, titled "U.S. Naval Power at Risk? Inside America’s Shipbuilding Crisis" was published on September 8, 2025 and runs 50 minutes.

September 8, 2025 ·50m · At The Boundary

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Summary

Text the ATB Team! We'd love to hear from you! The U.S. once built 90% of the world’s ships—today, it produces less than 1%. What went wrong, and can America reclaim maritime dominance? In this episode of the “At the Boundary” podcast, GNSI’s Dr. Guido Rossi sits down with maritime expert Dr. Randall Gentry, the principal research scientist at CNA Corporation, to unpack the crisis in U.S. shipbuilding. Together, they trace the decline of the industry, from globalization and shifting trade pa...

Episode Description

Text the ATB Team! We'd love to hear from you!

The U.S. once built 90% of the world’s ships—today, it produces less than 1%. What went wrong, and can America reclaim maritime dominance?

In this episode of the “At the Boundary” podcast, GNSI’s Dr. Guido Rossi sits down with maritime expert Dr. Randall Gentry, the principal research scientist at CNA Corporation, to unpack the crisis in U.S. shipbuilding. Together, they trace the decline of the industry, from globalization and shifting trade patterns to decades of policy choices that weakened America’s industrial base.

They also explore the current administration’s executive order on maritime dominance and the Ships Act for America, analyzing whether these measures can revive shipbuilding. Issues include: the urgent need for a skilled and stable workforce, how multi-ship contracts and long-term investment could change the game, and the role of allies like South Korea and Japan in strengthening U.S. capabilities.

If you care about American industry, national security, and the future of naval power, this episode dives deep into one of the most urgent questions facing U.S. strategy today.

Links from the episode:

• American Shipbuilding: From Crisis to Made-in-America Opportunity By Guido Rossi, PhD and Randall Gentry, PhD

• Register for CyberBay Here!

• Register for a webinar on irregular warfare with Dr. Rob Burrell and Chris Mason!

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At the Boundary from the Global and National Security Institute at the University of South Florida, features global and national security issues we’ve found to be insightful, intriguing, fascinating, maybe controversial, but overall just worth talking about.

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