U.S. shipbuilding, with its associated industries, is an important part of America’s defense. China already has the world’s largest standing army, navy, coast guard, maritime militia and missile force. Chinese shipyards crank out new ships at a breakneck pace, with the People’s Liberation Army Navy commissioning three new warships a day earlier this year — or “almost half as many as the US will induct in one year.” While America’s shipyards need to increase production, the last straw for an industry already confronting labor shortages is the federal vaccine mandate implemented by the Biden administration. Despite the deadline being delayed and softened , shipbuilders (and other supply chain firms across the aerospace- and defense-industrial base ) are still feeling the effects.