The facility, which Austin-based Sarnoic is calling “Port Alpha,” is expected to take 10 years to complete. Company officials say that in addition to producing drone boats for the U.S. military, it will produce crewed vessels and even some ships meant for both military and commercial use, News.Az reports, citing The Washington Times.
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Saronic CEO and co-founder Dino Mavrookas told reporters this week that “Port Alpha” will become one of the largest shipbuilding facilities in the world, with the potential to deliver a 50% increase in overall U.S. shipbuilding capacity.
An initial “phase one” of the project involves 800 acres of construction and company officials say they aim to have the facility operational by 2028.
Saronic is receiving a $211 million tax break for building in Brownsville, according to reporting from the Texas Tribune.
“We looked at a number of sites across the country. We did a complete and thorough search,” said Mr. Mavrookas. “Texas is committing to helping us cut through that red tape, start building, not just for the company’s sake, but really for the country.”
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has called the new port a “game-changing” economic boost for Texas citizens.
“When this shipyard gets fully built out, there will be about 10,000 employees,” Mr. Abbott said Thursday, echoing Saronic’s estimates.
“Saronic is going to be providing about $750 million in annual paychecks to Texans,” the governor said.
The “Port Alpha” announcement comes in the same week that JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon announced a $24 million investment in American shipbuilding, including helping finance new submarine manufacturing at the Philadelphia Navy Yard.
Shipbuilding has increasingly become an area of focus for Congress, the White House and top investors.
“You’re seeing the demand signal from the administration with the maritime executive order, the maritime action plan,” said Mr. Mavrookas. “You’re seeing the SHIPS act in Congress. It’s just an acknowledgement that, look, shipbuilding in this country is absolutely critical and again, it’s in crisis.”
Congressional passage of the Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security Act, commonly known as the SHIPS Act, is pending. The legislation includes federal benefits that would support the new Brownsville shipyard.
Sen. Todd Young, the Indiana Republican who introduced the bill alongside Sen. Mark Kelly, Arizona Democrat, has said it involves economic benefits that would be “very effective” at boosting U.S. shipbuilding.
“The table is set for the Ships for America Act to be included in its entirety in the National Defense Authorization Act,” Mr. Young told an audience during the recent IndoPac 2026 | Naval Dominance: Shipbuilding, Autonomy & C2 forum hosted by The Washington Times’ Threat Status national security team.
Mr. Young and Mr. Kelly introduced the SHIPS Act originally in 2024 and it has continued to have bipartisan support in Congress. Mr. Young highlighted that it has also had collaboration from the White House, Office of Management and Budget, Department of Transportation, Defense Department and local governments.
Much of the bill’s focus is on the commercial shipbuilding industry.
Mr. Mavrookas said Saronic is interested in producing commercial vessels including container ships, tankers and even icebreakers in the future. But the company isn’t waiting for Congress to pass the SHIPS Act to take action.
“It’s a fair question, and it’s something we’re tracking, but it’s not critical to what we’re doing,” he said of the legislation. “We’re gonna go and move out on this.”
Saronic’s planned investment in the “Port Alpha” is more than $3 billion. Mr. Mavrookas acknowledged that a project this large isn’t possible without the government and that his company has and will continue to court Capitol Hill to make it all possible.
“You do need government support and we are seeing that level of support from the government,” he said. “So we’ll continue to work with them as partners.”
Saronic’s Corsair autonomous boat made headlines earlier in the week when U.S. military forces in the Middle East deployed three of the vessels for a one-way attack mission. U.S. Central Command said the attack targeted Iran’s Bandar Abbas Naval Base, a “submarine and ship maintenance facility.”
U.S. Central Command also said the operation marked “the first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations.” The Corsair, was earlier used last month to recover two downed American helicopter pilots near Iran.
The sea drone is one of several autonomous surface vessels built at the Saronic’s existing Franklink, Louisiana, shipyard.
Mr. Mavrookas said this week’s announcement of “Port Alpha” was unrelated to the recent Corsair headlines.
“This is not something that we kept under wraps and waited for the right moment to announce,” he said. “It just so happens that Corsair has been very very successful in the Strait of Hormuz, providing those capabilities that you have seen right before this announcement.”
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