Massport Unveils “Blue Edge”, new Blue Economy Initiative

The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) has announced a new program to support maritime jobs and strengthen the Port of Boston’s position as a global center for blue economy and maritime businesses. This plan brings together longstanding maritime industry leaders with innovators, accelerators and entrepreneurs to help businesses thrive with an available work space at the Fish Pier.

“Blue Edge will bring together all the great maritime partners that we work with daily with new startups to grow and innovate our maritime sector. These startups are trying to revolutionize the maritime industry, find ways to fight climate change, and making seafood more sustainable,” said Rich Davey, CEO of Massport. “Boston is a worldwide innovation hub and we are committed to supporting this growing sector.”

The blue economy is a fast-growing sector in New England, and represents a wide range of ocean-related businesses and industries, from seafood and shipping to cruise and tourism, marine robotics and sensors to aquaculture and climate tech. It complements Boston’s traditional maritime industries with new opportunities to shape our working waterfront, supporting businesses and creating jobs in the Port’s broader marine ecosystem.  

Another exciting part of this plan is the establishment of a Blue Edge research facility at the Boston Fish Pier. This facility will create waterside workspace for blue economy startups and an adjacent floating dock to enable pilot testing and technology demonstrations. This new facility will enable blue economy innovators to have space in the South Boston Waterfront to design and test their concepts alongside Massport’s longstanding partners in the Port at the Fish Pier and beyond. Massport plans to start construction on this space soon and select an operating partner next year.

The Port of Boston was also recently designated as a Marine TechHub, intended to support the blue economy, through the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s TechHub program. Massport is excited to leverage this designation to work with key stakeholders to strengthen the region’s maritime innovation ecosystem and create more opportunities for ocean-focused companies to thrive in Boston.

In addition to the creation of a Blue Edge facility, Massport is also a project partner for MassCEC’s CriticalMass grant program, a sponsor of The Engine’s Tough Tech Demo Day and is actively engaged with startups and established marine businesses as a matchmaker to foster economic development and partnership opportunities.

For more information on Massport’s Blue Edge program, please visit our website.