Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance

The Department of Transportation Maritime Administration (MARAD) funds research, demonstration, and development of emerging maritime technologies through the Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance Program (CFDA 20.826), with the most recent award issued on August 27, 2025.

Program activity is minimal. A single Cooperative Agreement worth $520 thousand was awarded in 2025, with no indication of ongoing solicitations or recently posted grant opportunities in the source material. The award cadence is insufficient to establish a predictable funding frequency. The most recent funded activity—a vessel efficiency and noise reduction technology demonstration aboard a Hornbeck OSV—is scheduled for completion by April 1, 2027.

META funds studies and demonstration projects in air emissions reduction and alternative fuels and technologies for maritime vessels. Applicants must demonstrate quantifiable reductions in nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, particulate matter, or carbon through an approved emissions testing scheme and make resulting data available to MARAD for potential public use. Shore-side equipment upgrades and shore power projects are explicitly ineligible. The program also supports evaluation and verification of ballast water treatment technologies and related green shipping initiatives.

The program operates exclusively as Cooperative Agreements, which require quarterly fund disbursement via SF-270 invoicing and record-keeping compliance with individual award terms. Applicants must qualify as "eligible entities" under 46 U.S. Code 50307(d). Funding is available for one year following award date.

MARAD is the sole funding agency under this program, having obligated $520 thousand across the single recent award in the source portfolio. Absent additional open solicitations or a published funding roadmap, award frequency and future budget availability cannot be inferred from the available data. Organizations evaluating pursuit should confirm current opportunity status and application windows directly through Grants.gov, as the source contains no evidence of an active or recently posted RFA.