Sparrows Point shipyard could bring thousands of jobs, promises billions in investments

President Donald Trump joined state and local leaders Tuesday to welcome a huge new shipyard that will bring billions of dollars of investment and thousands of jobs to Sparrows Point in Baltimore County.

Anduril Industries is set to invest $3.7 billion to construct a new shipbuilding facility at the Tradepoint Atlantic terminal on the site of the former Bethlehem Steel plant. The Arsenal-2 facility will manufacture components for Virginia-class nuclear submarines, reinvigorating the area’s historical manufacturing industry.

“Anduril chose Sparrows Point, in part, because of what this waterfront has done for this country,” Anduril Industries co-founder and CEO Brian Schimpf said Tuesday. “Bethlehem Steel Mill here became the largest steel producer in the world. During the Second World War, hull after hull of Liberty ships were built at the shipyard on this site.

“That legacy doesn’t need to stay in the past. In the years ahead, Arsenal-2 will bring thousands of skilled manufacturing jobs back to the site and returns Sparrows Point to shipbuilding,” Schimpf said.

Moore says White House prevented him from speaking at Anduril announcement

Arsenal-2 will be a 2-million-square-foot “software-defined shipyard” on Sparrows Point. State officials say it is expected to bring a total of 14,000 jobs to Maryland, including 3,100 permanent jobs.

Additionally, the shipyard is expected to generate $2 billion in annual economic output, and deliver more than $300 million in wages each year, according to state estimates.

The company said site preparation and permitting will begin immediately, with construction to start as soon thereafter as possible. Initial production at the site could begin as early as 2030.

With the construction of the new shipyard Trump said the United States is “is going to remain the undisputed naval superpower of the world.”

“The workers of Baltimore and the shipyard here at Sparrows Point have been a vital part of the American industrial strength for literally over 100 years along these very shores,” Trump said. “Right here in Sparrows Point, you’ll build the next generation of American submarines, including autonomous subs … We’re going to have the finest ships anywhere in the world with the help of everyone here today.”

Notably missing from Tuesday’s ceremonies was Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, though several state lawmakers were in attendance. While the Moore administration said it has been involved in two years of discussions to bring Anduril to Maryland, officials with the governor’s office say he was disinvited from the event after the White House got involved.

But Schimpf gave him and other local leaders a shout-out during his remarks.

“An event of this magnitude and building a shipyard of this size comes with an equally long list of people who we need to acknowledge and thank,” Schimpf said. “Gov. Moore, County Executive [Kathy] Klausmeier, the federal congressional delegation, as well as state and local leaders throughout Maryland have all moved with urgency to bring industrial investment of this scale to Baltimore County.”

Attracting new companies to the state has been a priority of the Moore administration as it tries to revitalize the state’s stagnant economy, and counter ongoing budget woes. The administration says federal decisions under the Trump administration have exacerbated those challenges.

Lawmakers face another year in the coming legislative session with a steep budget shortfall, as spending is expected to outpace revenues by $3 billion in fiscal 2028.

Senate Budget and Taxation Chair Guy Guzzone (D-Howard), who attended the Tuesday event, said that the new shipyard construction is an “extraordinary” opportunity for Maryland to work with a major corporation that will bring in “lots of jobs.”

“It may be the very beginning and could lead to other companies coming to Tradeport Atlantic,” he said.

The shipyard construction will be “the largest job creator in Maryland in over a decade” according to a prepared statement from the governor’s office released Tuesday morning. Additionally, state and local officials plan to create a workforce training center near Tradepoint Atlantic to support the new shipyard.

“With this facility, thousands of Marylanders will have new pathways to work, wages, and wealth through advanced training and high-skilled maritime manufacturing jobs,” Moore said in a written statement. “We thank Anduril for choosing Maryland, and we’re ready to build the future of the aerospace and defense economy together.”