Brownsville, Texas – September 30, 2026 -- Saronic has broken ground on Port Alpha, a next-generation shipyard on 835 acres at the Port of Brownsville representing a private capital investment of more than $3 billion. Vice President JD Vance and Texas Governor Greg Abbott joined Saronic leadership and federal, state and local officials at the ceremony, where the company said the facility is expected to generate up to 10,000 direct jobs and an estimated $264.5 billion in economic impact for Texas.
Port Alpha will more than double current U.S. commercial shipbuilding capacity at launch
The shipyard opens with an initial 150,000 gross tons of annual shipbuilding capacity, with the potential to scale to more than 2 million gross tons. Port Alpha will initially build vessels up to 850 feet, with future site expansion — on land that could grow to nearly 4,400 acres — supporting vessels over 1,200 feet, which Saronic says would make it the largest shipyard in America.
First phase includes 1.2 million square feet of enclosed production space and Navy logistics vessels
Initial operations will encompass 1.2 million square feet of enclosed production space within a 2.5-million-square-foot production area, spread across 8 to 10 dedicated buildings and served by more than 2,500 feet of deepwater quay. Two to four build positions will handle final ship erection, backed by 75,000 tonnes — 150 million pounds — of annual steel processing capacity. Saronic has selected JE Dunn | Alberici Joint Venture to construct this phase, which will focus on autonomous, autonomy-capable and manned ships, including Landing Craft Utility vessels the company was recently awarded a contract to build for the U.S. Navy.
Saronic ties the project to a national push to close a 250,000-worker shipbuilding shortfall
The company is working with the State of Texas, Cameron County and regional educational institutions on engineering pipelines, technical training and apprenticeship pathways over the next decade, aiming to help address what it describes as a national shortfall of roughly 250,000 skilled shipbuilding workers. Saronic frames Port Alpha as aligned with the Administration's Executive Order "Restoring America's Maritime Dominance,