The European Commission launched the EU Industrial Maritime Value Chain Alliance on September 2 and has opened the call for public and private organizations linked to the maritime sector and the blue economy to apply for membership. The initiative had been announced on March 4 as part of the European Union's Maritime Industrial Strategy.
The call will remain open continuously and sets October 16, 2026, as the first deadline for applications. To be part of the Alliance, organizations must meet the participation criteria established in their terms of reference, subscribe to the corresponding declaration, and commit to actively contribute to its objectives.
The Commission indicates that public and private actors with relevant activities in the aquatic sector and the wider blue economy can participate. The relationship includes maritime manufacturers, suppliers, users of these technologies and services, member states and regions, investors, social partners, academic institutions, and civil society organizations.
The Alliance aims to bring together these actors to develop projects that allow for the expansion of production and use of ships and technologies manufactured in the EU in segments considered of strategic interest. Among the areas that these technologies must address, the Commission explicitly mentions maritime transport, inland navigation, ports, and other sectors of the blue economy.
Their work will include monitoring supply and demand and existing barriers in selected markets, collaboration to increase manufacturing capacity and deployment of technologies, and the creation of strategic project portfolios linked to European maritime value chains. It should also contribute to coordinating the investment priorities of the EU and member states and the incentives associated with these projects.
The concept of maritime manufacturing used by the Commission encompasses the construction, repair, maintenance, transformation, modernization, dismantling, and recycling of maritime and inland navigation vessels, floating platforms, and specialized surface and underwater units. It also includes the manufacturing of equipment and technologies intended for maritime, port-related, and blue economy activities.
The establishment of this Alliance is among the actions planned in the Maritime Industrial Strategy adopted by the Commission on March 4. The document states that this instrument must bring together participants from the aquatic ecosystem and national and regional authorities to develop joint roadmaps and project portfolios in specific areas. It also considers its use to coordinate European support mechanisms with national projects.
The strategy places among the areas of industrial interest the higher value-added shipbuilding segments, clean propulsion systems, and maritime and port equipment. The Commission also points to technologies such as digitalization, robotics, artificial intelligence, modularity, energy efficiency, and the circularity of industrial processes within the planned transformation of the European maritime industry by 2030.
The structure of the Alliance will include a general assembly open to its members that will meet at least once a year to establish its main priorities and approve opinions and recommendations. A governing council will coordinate the work and define the expected main results, while expert groups will focus on specific thematic areas.
