Jan Sramek 🇺🇲 🌁 ⛰️

The biggest shipyard in China and the biggest shipyard in South Korea both fit inside the Solano Shipyard. 6.5 miles of waterfront on a federal deep-water channel used by Panamax class, destroyer-sized ships. There are 365,000 skilled workers within 50 miles. Just sayin'.

@schaffner4449 @Gulfexplorer1 Analysis by @JLL

@Gulfexplorer1 @jansramek What is the source of the 365000 number? Was it just made up?

The biggest shipyard in China and the biggest shipyard in South Korea both fit inside the Solano Shipyard. 6.5 miles of waterfront on a federal deep-water channel used by Panamax class, destroyer-sized ships. There are 365,000 skilled workers within 50 miles. Just sayin'.

@KristinNap95 Correct! It's just a few miles upstream from there on the Deep Water Ship Channel that goes to Ports of West Sacramento and of Stockton.

@jansramek Excuse me for calling it this, but is this the area that once used to be home to the Mothball Fleet? Is that correct? Definitely a good spot, considering all the refineries in the area are apparently going dark.

Thanks! Taking these in turn: As for (a), we believe in that. As for (b), SecNav sees it differently: x.com/SECNAV/status/… As for (c), we are not a shipbuilder and won't be. Our goal is to be the place to build a new yard for anyone who wants to do it, whether an established domestic shipbuilder, one of the neo-shipbuilders, or an allied shipbuilder, and we believe we're that. All the data says that the Navy's 2026 shipbuilding plan cannot be delivered in existing yards only, so the existing players will have to start some new yards. It's hard to see how the Navy hits its shipbuilding and ship repair targets without at least one new massive shipbuilding complex, and based on all of our discussions, there is no better place to do this in America than the Solano Shipyard, once you go through the list of all the things you need to make something of this scale work.

Thanks for the response. So this is a naval shipbuilding play? If so, then it seems to me that the viability of the yard and its large sunk costs hinges on a) robust naval budgets for many years to come b) the Navy not opting to build auxiliaries abroad (which they have expressed interest in) and c) beating out the existing players for those contracts as well as Hanwha Philly, which has also targeted the naval market. Those strike me as significant issues. I applaud your California Forever vision and sincerely hope it succeeds — both the state and the country could use more of this kind of walkable urbanism — but the shipbuilding component strikes me as a real challenge.

@Perseus_vc @johnkonrad Because those old shipyards have been turned into condos and coffee shops.

@jansramek @johnkonrad Why destroy the ecosystem and build a new shipyard when there are already plenty of disused shipyards in the bay area that could be activated?

@jansramek @johnkonrad I’m a structural welder in the PNW. I make 68/hr. On the check. I work all year. 12 years going. I would take a modest pay cut to help America and help build ships. Give me that opportunity please.

@Alexmil27968274 @johnkonrad Working hard on it!

@__dwr__ Distribute the supply chain, but then the ships have to be assembled somewhere.

@jansramek cool, but, don't we want it to be more distributed? A central industrial node has some downsides.

@johnsmith3433 You realize we build the Falcon engines, B-21 Raiders, and oil tankers here right?

@jansramek You want to build heavy machinery in California? You are not to be taken seriously.

@VGrubsky @TrentTelenko It's already zoned for maritime industrial activities.

@jansramek @TrentTelenko Environmental Reviews: Because the site includes wetland and marshy areas, it requires extensive review from the Bay Delta Commission to mitigate any negative ecological impacts. 😂

@ZSepv2 Thank you. Stay tuned!

@jansramek Ive been following your account and your activities for quite a few months now and honestly Im surprised it hasnt been given the go ahead. Shipbuilding is a national priority, you should've been given the support for this yesterday.

@schaffner4449 Skilled workers in areas that are naturally trained or re-trained into shipbuilding. Manufacturing, construction, logistics, etc.

@jansramek You really think there are 365k skilled shipyard workers within 50 miles? Where are they working now? There used to be a lot at MINSY, but not so much anymore.

@CJHandmer @lymanstoneky Hard to do for something as major as a shipyard!

@jansramek @lymanstoneky What if we just started building?

@cpgrabow To start with, there are dozens of ships that need to be built for the US Navy, not just combatants but also auxiliaries, which cannot and should not be built abroad.

@jansramek US-built commercial ships cost ~5x the world price. Where do you expect the demand to come from to justify this shipyard?

@DGartifact Working on it. Stay tuned :)

@jansramek what is the update on this whole plan? is it moving forward?

@matthewl_cn It’s better than anywhere else you can do this in the US when you consider skills, unemployment, absolute labor pool etc.

@jansramek 365k workers within 50 miles is a headline, not a labour pool. In my line of work the constraint is never warm bodies, it's marine welders. Ask Vallejo this week. Lloyd's List readers already know.

@clumma There's nowhere else to do this at this scale, and certainly not on the Pacific. Solano or bust.

@jansramek This must happen

@DeplorableChuc3 Sorry to break this to you but China is on the Pacific.

@jansramek California. Shithole. Non-starter. Investor money better spent in a Gulf of America state.

We're excited to announce that Jan Sramek, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of California Forever, will speak at the 2026 Reagan National Economic Forum. Housing, permitting, urban development, and the question of whether America can still build the things we need — these are among the most important conversations on American economic life, and they're central to RNEF's agenda this year. Mark your calendar for Friday, May 29 to hear this conversation live from #RNEF2026. 📅Register for the livestream: reaganfoundation.org/events/2026-re… @jansramek @CAForever

@SukritGanesh @jansramek @CAForever Good point. Much of upper Manhattan was farmland until 1880s or 90s and went straight to 4+ story townhouses and apartments