U.S. maritime policy seemingly has no captain, and it’s causing headaches for early movers who committed to investing in the sector—even the most well-connected, deep-pocketed players.

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.

The Connecticut/New York area’s competitive advantage on the world maritime stage does not stem from the tradition of fleets passed down from generation to generation, as you would find in Greece. The region's superpower is its proximity to some of the deepest pools of capital in the world—the "smart money".