US maritime technology company Saronic has selected Brownsville, Texas, for a shipyard backed by more than $3bn of investment and designed ultimately to build vessels longer than 1,200 feet, according to Saronic.
Construction of Port Alpha is expected to begin in 2026, with operations scheduled to start in 2028. The project will initially occupy 835 acres at the Port of Brownsville, with potential expansion to nearly 4,400 acres. Its first phase will be capable of producing vessels up to 850 feet, while later development could support ships exceeding 1,200 feet.
Saronic chose Brownsville after a year-long search covering sites on the US east, west and Gulf coasts. The company assessed workforce availability, infrastructure, land, logistics and expansion potential. The site offers waterfront access, deepwater channel connectivity and multimodal transport infrastructure.
Saronic plans to work with Texas, Cameron County and educational institutions on training and apprenticeship programmes in welding, machining, robotics, software engineering and naval architecture.
The Brownsville project follows Saronic’s acquisition of a shipyard in Franklin, Louisiana, in early 2025. The company is investing $300m there to add 300,000 square feet of production capacity. The Franklin facility will continue producing Saronic’s 180-foot Marauder autonomous vessel, which was designed and launched in less than one year.