Navy Secretary Charts New Course for Maritime Diplomacy in Copenhagen

Copenhagen, DENMARK – Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro visited A.P. Moller-Maersk during a recent trip to the Kingdom of Denmark.

In a meeting with A.P. Moller-Maersk CEO Vincent Clerc, Del Toro affirmed the U.S. Navy’s commitment to protecting commercial ships and mariners against unprovoked Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. The discussions focused on drawing investments for American shipbuilding, particularly in constructing commercial sealift vessels.

This visit underscores ongoing efforts to renew the foundations of American seapower. Secretary Del Toro introduced his new maritime statecraft initiative at the Harvard Kennedy School on Sept. 26, 2023.

“With some of the world’s most technologically advanced shipbuilders already heeding our call to invest in integrated commercial and naval shipbuilding facilities in the United States, the next step in our maritime statecraft strategy is to attract the world’s foremost commercial shipping firms to signal their demand for new ships built in American shipyards,” Del Toro stated.

In an Aug. 8 speech at the Naval War College, Del Toro emphasized the need to renew the nation’s broader seapower ecosystem. “Making naval shipbuilding more cost effective requires we restore the competitiveness of U.S. commercial shipping and shipbuilding,” he explained.

Del Toro’s visit follows months of collaboration with partners such as the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Maritime Administration. These efforts aim to leverage existing authorities and craft new incentives for building and flagging commercial ships in the U.S. For instance, the Department of Energy’s Title 17 Clean Energy Financing program now offers low-interest loans for U.S.-built dual-fuel commercial ships.

“Our calculus is that bringing a larger portion of the newbuild order books of the world’s biggest shipping firms to American shores in the coming years will offer significant returns to Navy shipbuilding and sealift,” Del Toro added.

The U.S. Maritime Administration manages the Maritime Security Program (MSP), maintaining a fleet of U.S.-flagged merchant ships that support military sealift requirements during conflicts or national emergencies.

Secretary Del Toro stated he looks forward to continuing discussions with A.P. Moller-Maersk leadership during their upcoming visit to the United States.