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JULY 2026
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assenger vessel operators have had a powerful financing tool sitting in plain sight for de-
cades, and most of them could not use it. The Capital Construction Fund (CCF), ad-
ministered by MARAD and rooted in the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, is a federal tax 
deferral program built to help U.S.-flag operators accumulate capital for vessel construction, 
reconstruction, and debt retirement. Its reach was narrow for most of that history. It served 
ocean-going cargo operators, Great Lakes carriers, and a limited set of qualifying short-sea ser-

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