Secure Our Ports Act of 2025

The bill would amend title 46 of the United States Code by adding a new section — 70015 — that bars owners or operators of covered port facilities from signing contracts for ownership, leasing, or operation with two categories of entities: (1) state-owned enterprises of China, Russia, North Korea, or Iran, and (2) any foreign entity in which any percentage of ownership is held by one of those four countries. The covered facilities are those that already must maintain a facility security plan under existing federal law, meaning they are located in port areas subject to enhanced maritime transportation security requirements.

The bill does not create a new enforcement agency or rulemaking process; it adds a flat statutory prohibition that would apply to new contracts. It does not address existing contracts already in place, nor does it direct any agency to monitor or revoke current arrangements.

Owners and operators of U.S. port facilities that are already required to maintain a facility security plan under federal maritime security law — primarily large commercial seaports and terminal operators. Chinese, Russian, North Korean, and Iranian state-owned enterprises, and any foreign company in which those governments hold even a minority stake, would be barred as contracting parties.

Port facility operators would face a hard statutory bar — not merely a review process — against signing new ownership, lease, or operating deals with adversary-linked entities. Any operator that enters such a contract after enactment would be in violation of federal law. The "any percentage" ownership standard is notably broad: even a small equity stake held by a covered country's government would disqualify the contracting partner.

The prohibition is self-executing: once enacted, the statutory bar would apply to any new contract at a covered facility without requiring agency rulemaking. Covered facilities are already identified by their existing obligation to maintain a facility security plan under 46 U.S.C. § 70103(c). The bill contains no explicit enforcement mechanism, agency oversight requirement, or reporting obligation, leaving enforcement to existing federal authority over maritime security compliance.