01/21/2026
SOUTHERN INDIANA COUNTIES MAKE BOLD PUSH TO DELIVER ON SHIPS ACT GOALS
Wednesday, January 21, 2026 06:00 AM EDT
By Alex Brown with INDIANA BUSINESS JOURNAL
A trio of southern Indiana counties is looking to take advantage of local resources to support the growth of American shipbuilding that would be spurred by a bill currently being considered in Congress.
The SHIPS for America Act, co-authored by Sen. Todd Young, R-IN, is designed to rebuild the U.S. shipyard industrial base and expand the recruitment, training and retention of shipyard workers.
Officials from Spencer, Perry and Harrison counties are making a push to become a so-called “SHIPS Act Ready Region,” largely due to the infrastructure already in place to support shipbuilding, including the existing Corn Island Shipyard in Spencer County.
Randy Cole, president of the Perry County Commissioners, says the region is primed to contribute to more shipbuilding in America, despite not being located in an area traditionally associated with ships.
“It’s not necessarily building a complete ship, but it’s the ability to build components and utilize in the resources that are readily available,” Cole said. “We can participate in those things rather than thinking that you have to get it to a port on an outside area of the country. We’re rural. We have the ground. We have access to the river. I mean, it’s underutilized resource.”
Cole said the region has a history of marine activity that dates back to World War II.
“The Ohio River provided us an opportunity to build and and send our material for the war effort out to wherever it needed to be transported,” he said. “We could build it in inland and utilize the resources, workforce, metals, whatever is necessary to do that. We’ve had that type of background.”
The Corn Island Shipyard, located in the Spencer County town of Grandview, primarily builds custom barges and specialized marine structures, according to the facility’s website.
Spencer County Commissioner Heather Gries told Inside INdiana Business as coastal shipyards face capacity constraints, inland ports along the Ohio River offer space to stage, fabricate, pre-assemble, and store large maritime components—from steel modules and propulsion systems to energy and defense-related equipment—before final delivery.
“Spencer County’s advantage lies in its combination of deep-draft Ohio River access, industrial-ready land, and direct connections to rail and interstate highways,” Gries said in written remarks. “This allows riverfront and port-adjacent sites to function not just as transfer points, but as long-term staging, storage, and partial assembly hubs for oversized and modular equipment—strengthening both existing manufacturers and future recruitment efforts.”
Cole says Perry County is also home to a large foundry that has the capability of helping create many of the components needed for the types of vessels the SHIPS Act seeks to build in the United States.
Harrison County Commissioner Nelson Stepro adds that his county has plenty of riverfront property that could be developed to support the effort as well.
“We would have an opportunity for a good north and south connection to Interstate 64,” Stepro said. “I believe what we would experience would be supplemental, smaller factories flying materials or goods to the industry.”
Cole noted that while full-sized ships would not be build on the Ohio River along Indiana’s border, the region can work like the automobile plants around the state, producing large components that can then be shipped off to coastal ports for final assembly.
“What this does is it spreads all of the work among a larger area…and they can start putting out substantially more ships,” he said. “And this is our way of being caught up so we can start building these ships. It’ll make a difference, not only for the quantity, but also the workforce that’s involved with putting it all together.”
Sen. Young visited the three counties last September as he continues to advocate for the SHIPS Act. In a statement to Inside INdiana Business, Young touted the benefits of what the bill would bring.
“While building more American ships is good for our national security, it also will provide new opportunities for American workers, including in our state,” Young said. “Indiana is home to three ports and the Corn Island Shipyard in Spencer County. Hoosier steel manufacturers could benefit from the increased need for steel to build these new ships. Small component manufacturers across the state would likely see additional demand. Since the bill’s introduction, numerous Hoosier small businesses have shared how the SHIPS Act could lead to more growth or opportunities for their workers.”
The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation but no action has yet been taken.
Spencer County Councilor Brian Greulich says they’re waiting to hear more specifics on what the government is looking for in terms of facilities and workforce development opportunities before the counties make a more detailed pitch.
Corn Island Shipyard in Spencer County (photo courtesy of Corn Island Shipyard)
