Numerous articles describe how current steel import tariffs could raise the cost of cars and homes. But not much attention has been given to their impact on shipbuilding costs.

Beginning in April 2029, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) will enforce a requirement that 1% of all liquified natural gas (LNG) exports from the U.S. be shipped aboard a U.S.-built LNG carrier. The U.S. hasn’t built an LNG carrier in nearly 50 years. 

Stating the obvious: the U.S. wants more American-built ships. Less obvious: how many ships can America’s biggest shipyards build? 

James Lightbourn, founder of Cavalier Shipping, cited in The New York Times' May 27, 2025 article on U.S. shipbuilding.

Much of U.S. shipping’s newfound attention has rightly focused on the shipbuilding sector. For every new ship ordered, someone has to finance construction costs.

If you’re a shipping company that uses a Chinese leasing structure to finance your fleet but otherwise has no ties to China, what are you to do under the U.S. Trade Representative’s proposed measures?

Savvy shipowners could participate in both the SHIPS for America Act and Title XI to bring the effective cost of building ships in the U.S. down considerably.

James Lightbourn is featured in TradeWinds’ 25 New Faces list, as one of the people they’ve picked as “shipping’s next generation news makers and market movers.”

On April 30, Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Todd Young (R-IN) and Congressmen Trent Kelly (R-MS-1) and John Garamendi (D-CA-8) reintroduced the SHIPS for America Act, potentially reshaping U.S. maritime policy, backed by US taxpayer dollars.

The shipping industry’s core purpose is to facilitate global trade of commodities. While freight rates are a revenue item for shipowners, they are an expense item for commodity movers. 

James Lightbourn will speak on a panel at the two-day Bahamas Business and Investment Forum, hosted by the Embassy of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, which begins on Monday, May 29 in NYC.

You’ve probably heard this one before: An economist and his friend are walking down the street when they see a $20 bill lying on the ground. The friend bends down to pick it up but the economist says, “Don’t bother. If it were real, someone would have already picked it up.”

With current uncertainty around global trade given the U.S. administration’s policy disruptions, now seems like an odd time for a shipping company to pursue a public listing in New York. 

There’s growing concern over America’s shrinking footprint in global shipping—but one strategic edge remains: Wall Street.

Activist investors largely overlook the shipping industry, but that could begin to change as companies aggressively repay their loans while trading at steep discounts to their net asset value (NAV).

As the U.S. looks to rebuild its maritime industrial base, there’s a lot of talk about needing an Elon Musk-type wealthy entrepreneur figure to swoop in from the tech sector and save American shipping.

By exempting U.S.-flagged ships from carbon levies and bolstering domestic subsidies, Washington is sending a clear one: the U.S. fleet is open for business again.

While the panel acknowledged the rough seas ahead, there was consensus that the increased attention the shipping industry is receiving today is a positive indicator for attracting long-term investor interest and capital into the sector.

In shipping, volatility isn’t noise—it’s opportunity. And in flat markets, even the sharpest traders can struggle to make the math work in their favor.

Is the role of a public shipping company to compound value over time, or to simply serve as a trading vehicle for investors looking to opportunistically play the industry’s infamous cycles?