America's Marine Highway Program | 693JF718R000024

Opportunity Information: Apply for 693JF718R000024

America's Marine Highway Program (AMHP) is a U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD) discretionary grant opportunity that uses federal funds to help launch new marine highway services or expand existing ones. The core idea is to shift appropriate cargo movements off congested roads and onto U.S. waterways when the water option is the best overall transportation choice. The specific notice you provided announces the availability of grant funding, explains who can apply, and lays out how MARAD and the Secretary of Transportation will evaluate and select projects for awards.

Funding for this round comes from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, which set aside $7,000,000 for the Short Sea Transportation Program, commonly known as AMHP. The grant funding is intended to support projects that strengthen marine transportation by investing in documented vessels and/or the port and landside infrastructure needed to make these services practical and scalable. The program is not meant to reshuffle existing waterborne traffic from one vessel service to another; instead, it focuses on growing waterborne options where freight is currently moving over land. Because of that policy goal, proposals that directly compete with an existing Marine Highway service are not eligible for award consideration.

A key eligibility rule is that only projects (or components of projects) that have already been designated by the Secretary of Transportation as Marine Highway Projects can receive grant funding under this notice. In other words, an applicant cannot use this grant to seek first-time designation; the project must already be on the official list of designated Marine Highway Projects. The notice points applicants to the Marine Highway website for the current designation list and references the June 27, 2018 final rule (83 FR 30214) for more detail on what designation means and how Marine Highway projects are defined.

Applicants are the sponsors of those designated Marine Highway Projects, and sponsors are public entities. Examples include state governments and state DOTs, metropolitan planning organizations, and port authorities, among other public-sector bodies. While the eligible applicant is the public sponsor, the projects themselves typically involve coordination with private operators, shippers, terminal partners, and other stakeholders because the program requires evidence that real customers will use the service.

The notice also reflects statutory and regulatory updates tied to changes made in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016 and subsequent MARAD rulemaking. One notable update is a broader, clearer definition of eligible cargo. AMHP-eligible cargo is expanded to include cargo shipped in discrete units or packages that are handled individually, including palletized or unitized cargo, and it also includes freight vehicles carried aboard commuter ferry boats. MARAD also modernized its implementing rules to streamline and simplify program language and administration. Among the changes described are adding "promote short sea shipping" as an explicit program purpose, renaming "corridors, connectors, and crossings" as "Routes" for simplicity, expanding eligibility criteria for services and Routes that may participate, clarifying the standards for project designation, reorganizing the regulations within 46 CFR Part 393, and adding an expectation that project sponsors provide periodic updates on project status.

From an application and selection standpoint, the program is heavily focused on financial viability and demonstrable market demand. Applicants must submit an application in the form, manner, and timeframe specified by the Secretary, and they must show that the project is financially viable, that grant funds will be used efficiently and effectively, and that there is an actual market for the proposed service. Market evidence is expected in the form of contracts or written statements of intent from potential customers, which signals that the service is not speculative and can become sustainable in a reasonable period. The notice describes a financially viable plan as one the Secretary determines can be sustained within a specified and reasonable timeframe.

Cost sharing is another central requirement. Applicants must provide at least 20 percent of total project costs from non-federal sources, meaning federal grant dollars cannot cover the entire project. In making awards, DOT is directed to prefer proposals that are most financially viable and that request the lowest percentage federal share, so applicants who bring more non-federal funding to the table and present strong business fundamentals are positioned more competitively. The opportunity is identified as a grant (funding instrument type: Grant) under CFDA 20.816, administered by MARAD, with the original closing date listed as October 5, 2018, under funding opportunity number 693JF718R000024.

• The Maritime Administration in the other sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "America's Marine Highway 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 2018-07-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2018-10-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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