Chamber of Commerce Hawaii
Maritime
Hawaii’s maritime industry is vital for commerce, supply chains, and economic resilience. This policy committee advances policies that strengthen workforce development, regulatory coordination, clean energy integration, and long-term infrastructure planning to create a sustainable, innovative, and reliable maritime sector statewide.
Our Mission
To bolster Hawaii’s maritime industry by developing workforce pathways, improving intrastate water carrier oversight, integrating clean energy and decarbonization goals, and ensuring a resilient, affordable, and strategically important maritime transportation system.
The Chamber supports modernization of Hawaii’s harbors, interisland shipping, and maritime workforce pipelines, while improving regulatory consistency and aligning clean-energy initiatives with industry realities. Programs include youth and adult apprenticeships, infrastructure upgrades, and dedicated oversight of intrastate water carriers.
Investments create skilled jobs in vessel maintenance, logistics, port operations, and maritime trades. Regulatory clarity and infrastructure improvements strengthen supply chain reliability and reduce reliance on out-of-state labor. Broader benefits include economic diversification, clean-energy adoption, and long-term resilience in Hawaii’s maritime sector.
Our Purpose
The Maritime Policy Committee supports the goals of the 2030 Blueprint for Hawaii by:
- Developing youth apprenticeship pathways to train skilled workers for shipbuilding, ports, and marine operations, addressing critical labor shortages.
- Strengthening regulatory oversight of intrastate water carriers to improve operational efficiency, safety, and alignment with harbor infrastructure responsibilities.
- Integrating maritime transportation into clean energy and decarbonization planning to advance zero-emission operations while maintaining reliable supply chains.
- Supporting long-term infrastructure planning for ports, interisland shipping, and cruise operations to ensure competitiveness, resilience, and economic security.
- Promoting workforce development, innovation, and sustainability initiatives that reinforce Hawaii’s maritime industry as a critical economic and strategic sector.
Our Vision
A modern, sustainable, innovative maritime industry with a skilled workforce, efficient operations, zero-emission planning, and resilient infrastructure that ensures Hawaii’s economic, environmental, and strategic maritime security.
Policy Committee Focus Areas
WORKFORCE & CAREER PATHWAYS
Build a statewide maritime talent pipeline through youth apprenticeships, community colleges, unions, and maritime academies, emphasizing high-skill, family-wage careers.
INFRASTRUCTURE & HARBOR MODERNIZATION
Advance major harbor projects, shipbuilding, repair, and industrial capacity while aligning state and federal investments with long-term maritime priorities.
INNOVATION & CLEAN ENERGY
Promote renewable fuel integration, green port technologies, and resilient infrastructure to support decarbonization, sustainability, and environmental resilience in maritime operations.
INTERISLAND TRANSPORTATION & OVERSIGHT
Strengthen regulatory oversight, including PUC-to-DOT alignment and interisland shipping policies, to ensure efficiency, economic sustainability, and reliable supply chains.
Excited about the Blueprint?
Has the Blueprint been a catalyst for business growth and legislative engagement? We want to spotlight you.
Reach out
Contact us if you want to know more about or get involved with legislative action, advocacy events or the 2030 Blueprint.