Solano Shipyard

Rebuilding America’s maritime strength

Largest remaining greenfield site in America, scaled and located to build shipyards of the future

Located in one of America's best natural harbors, half-way between San Diego and Seattle, with 7,500 acres along 6.5 mile waterfront on a federal deep water ship channel

America needs a West Coast shipyard.

China Dominations Global Shipping — China now dominates global shipbuilding, producing more ships at a single shipyard in 2024 than the United States has built, in all of our shipyards, in 80 years since World War II.

United States Shipyards Primary On East Coast And Gulf — Most U.S. shipyards are on the East Coast and in the Gulf, with critical dependency on the Panama Canal.

The perfect location, the perfect site, with a scale that matters.

Long recognized as the largest maritime industrial site on the West Coast, 15x larger than the second biggest site, and nearly 50x larger than sites #3 through #5

Location

Located where Sacramento River meets the Bay, along 6.5 miles of waterfront, on a federal deep water ship channel that Panamax-class ships use every day.

Scale

At 7,500 acres, nearly 2.5× the size of China’s massive Changxing shipyard, and large enough to contain all of the largest private US shipyards.

Innovation

Access to Silicon Valley where talent across AI, robotics, automation, and maritime engineering can shape the shipyard of the future.

Workforce

Located in the NorCal megaregion, home 12 million people. Near dozens of universities and training programs including Cal Maritime, the only maritime academy on the West Coast.

A legacy of shipbuilding

Solano County has been a center of shipbuilding on the West Coast for over a century

In 1853, the US Navy established its first base on the West Coast on Mare Island, in Solano County. After that and until a couple of decades ago, Solano County and the Bay Area played a critical role in the West Coast maritime industrial base. In the 1980s, Solano County reserved this industrial waterfront for a moment just like today.

1989 Development study Download study

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Solano County General Plans Download plan

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Common questions

Frequently asked questions about the Solano Shipyard.

What role would California Forever play in the Solano Shipyard?

California Forever is the master developer – we own the land, are working with shipbuilders to master plan the site, and would develop the key infrastructure, including road access, potentially rail, water and wastewater, as well as access to backbone power, gas, and fibre infrastructure.

How would the Solano Shipyard actually work?

At 7,500 acres, the Solano Shipyard is large enough to be a shipbuilding complex – a collection of many separate shipyards. These shipyards could be involved in different activities, in both naval and commercial shipbuilding, and/or ship repair.

What is the status of the Solano Shipyard?

California Forever is currently in discussions with a variety of traditional and emerging shipbuilders, both domestic and from our allied nations, who are considering building their yards at the Solano Shipyard.