Douglas Harrington

Captain Harrington was appointed as Associate Administrator for Strategic Sealift in September 2024.

Within the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD), his portfolio includes responsibility for commercial and federal sealift programs that provide for the Nation’s requirements during peacetime, civil contingencies, and wartime.

As MARAD’s senior executive for strategic sealift capabilities, he oversees programs including the Maritime Security Program, Tanker Security Program, Cable Security Fleet, and the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF).     He is responsible for sustaining maritime preparedness activities and capabilities including cargo preference, U.S. Merchant Marine training, commercial strategic port readiness, and cooperation with other Federal agencies, NATO, and commercial maritime organizations.

Today, the NDRF is being recapitalized, with new construction ship designs and procurement of existing hulls from sources worldwide.  The leading effort for new construction is the National Security Multi-mission Vessel (NSMV) program, constructing five ships schoolships for maritime training, as part of the Public Nautical Schoolship Program (PNSP).

Joining MARAD in 2015 as a Supervisory Transportation Specialist, he served as Deputy Director for Ship Operations, since 2016.  In 2019, he was selected to the Senior Executive Service, appointed as Deputy Associate Administrator for Federal Sealift, where his responsibilities included the acquisition, operations, maintenance, repair, and logistics support of Government-owned merchant ships of the NDRF and the Ready Reserve Force (RRF) fleet.  To support defense sealift requirements, he managed the headquarters divisions, field-level Area Divisions, and three NDRF anchorages and facilities located in VA, TX, and CA, and he oversaw the Ship Disposal Program and the decommissioning project for the Nuclear Ship Savannah.

He is a graduate of the Maine Maritime Academy with service in the U.S. Merchant Marine since 1991 and licensed as Master since 1997 with assignments on oil tankers, container ships, bulkers, and roll-on/roll-off vessels.  He served in the U.S. Navy as an Unrestricted Line Officer, designated as a Surface Warfare Officer, and qualified as a Strategic Sealift Officer and Joint Qualified Officer-Level III.

Captain Harrington completed the National Sealift Training Program and the Harvard Kennedy School's Senior Managers in Government Program.  

For his U.S. Merchant Marine service during Operation Iraqi Freedom, he was awarded the Merchant Marine Expeditionary Medal.

He remains licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard as a Master Mariner, Unlimited.