During the September opening of a new manufacturing facility for Regent Craft, a Rhode Island-based seaglider company, U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I. 1) watched the newest prototype fly just above the Narragansett Bay. The opening was Amo’s first stop on the 2026 Blue Economy Tour, a series where the representative visits locations that highlight Rhode Island’s efforts in areas such as aquaculture and marine science.
The tour is ongoing, and the next stops have yet to be publicly announced.
Regent Craft is currently preparing the facility to begin production and aims to have its first seagliders delivered in late 2027, said Brittany Tedeschi, the vice president of people and places at Regent Craft.
Regent Craft’s seagliders are used for defense, often being flown for medical evacuations or rescue missions, as well as for commercial purposes, allowing for fast travel across the Northeast coast.
The defense sector accounts for over 60% of the direct value of the state’s blue economy, according to the 2025 update of a report from Grow Blue, a R.I.-based public-private partnership with the University of Rhode Island Research Foundation that conducts blue economy research.
Grow Blue’s report identifies federally funded defense industries as the greatest source of value and jobs compared to other blue economy sectors, contributing 16,011 jobs and $3.16 billion in direct value. There are nearly 400 defense companies registered and active in Rhode Island, according to the 2026 Overview of the Rhode Island Economy by the Executive Office of Commerce.
Giselle Mahoney, chief of communications for the Rhode Island Executive Office of Commerce, wrote in an email to The Herald that the shift in federal priorities toward defense and national security that has occurred since 2024 “has been positive for Rhode Island companies.”
“Companies with technologies aligned to defense missions are now better positioned for relevant federal opportunities,” she added.
Grow Blue’s report also found that Rhode Island’s blue economy generates 8.8% of the state’s GDP and accounts for 5.7% of overall employment, a proportion that exceeds states such as Massachusetts and Connecticut.
Beyond defense, Amo’s tour is exploring other sectors of the blue economy, including aquaculture, shipbuilding and marine engineering.
On Tuesday, Amo made his second stop at Roger Williams University, where the Center for Economic and Environmental Development houses a shellfish hatchery, an aquatic diagnostic lab and a wet lab with flowing seawater.
A large part of the economy is based on “businesses that depend on the health of our marine ecosystems,” said CEED Director Koty Sharp. Sharp appreciated that Amo “understands the importance of these maritime industries and aquaculture industries, and supporting economic growth in those spaces.”
Projects at CEED strive to apply advanced research to problems affecting the aquaculture industry and marine conservation, Sharp said. CEED uses biotechnology to develop tools for disease detection and support drug development research, which can help protect oyster and clam populations from disease and population decline, she added
Later that day, Amo visited Hinckley Yacht Services — a yacht restoration and maintenance facility located in Portsmouth — for the third stop of his tour.
“It’s pretty specialized work,” said Scott Bryant, vice president of sales and marketing at Hinckley. “The biggest challenge I think that we all face in the blue economy is continuing to be able to hire good talent and bring talented craftsmen and technicians into the industry because we all require them.” Hinckley has partnered closely with trade schools to hire trained workers, Bryant said.
The status of the blue economy labor force in Rhode Island was a main topic of discussion during Amo’s visit to the yard, according to Bryant.
On Wednesday, Amo continued his tour with a visit to Solid State Power, a Pawtucket-based battery manufacturer. The company designs batteries to be used for a range of defense and commercial marine purposes, from powering household boats to underwater drones.
Tom Calef, the CEO of Solid State Power, showed Amo the 31,000-square-foot headquarters where engineers design and assemble the batteries. The company provides batteries for several R.I.-based blue economy companies, Calef said.
Amo plans to support the blue economy by identifying additional opportunities for funding, he said during the visit. “I will keep supporting their innovative work in Congress and fighting for federal policies so Rhode Islanders can keep building the technology fueling our blue economy,” Amo wrote in a press release about the tour.
Ava Rahman is a senior staff writer covering housing, infrastructure and transportation.
