Last May, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (CGA) announced that 240 new officers made up its 140th graduating class.The Academy’s announcement referenced additional, important highlights. Women made up 34% of the Class of 2021, and 34% of the graduates were from underrepresented minority groups.
The global seafarers crisis takes center stage at the World Maritime University (WMU), as Dr. Michael Ekow Manuel discusses the importance of seafarers, seafarer training and the MarTID 2021 survey.While many maritime professionals have the theoretical ‘salt in their veins’, a career at sea seemingly predestined by family ties and/or geographic proximity, that is not the case for Dr.
2020 presented a monumental challenge for many industries and workers, particularly seafarers, as COVID-19 effectively left hundreds of thousands of seafarers stranded at sea, unable to disembark and partake in crew changes due to onerous restrictions by the majority of port states.
For professional maritime training, the 2020 holiday season was bright indeed. In a world clutching for optimism, officials from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) made a series of announcements that will strengthen, expand and intensify America’s maritime academic programs—really the maritime industry—for at least the next decade, likely much longer.
Philly Shipyard on Wednesday marked the start of fabrication for the second of five planned National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMV). The purpose-built, state-of-the-art training ships will be used by America’s state maritime academies.The first steel plates cut by the yard’s state-of-the-art plasma cutting machine will be later joined into a double bottom, mid-ship section.
This week, U.S. Federal Maritime Commissioners Daniel B. Maffei and Carl W. Bentzel sent letters to the Governors of major port states urging them to prioritize the vaccination of the maritime workforce to protect the nation’s supply chain.Letters were sent to the Governors of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, South Carolina
Svitzer, Kongsberg Maritime and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) signed a deal to jointly develop the RECOTUG, touted as the world’s first commercial tug to be fully operated from a remote operations center on shore.Each organization delivers a unique perspective: Svitzer brings operational experience; Kongsberg brings remote control systems and autonomous technology; and ABS brings
The 2021 Maritime Training Insights Database (MarTID) survey is about to be launched. This is a unique and pivotal time in maritime training. The pandemic has forced us to adapt our training and has accelerated training innovations. This year’s survey is uniquely important for its ability to help us learn from these unprecedented changes to training practices.
President Joe Biden on Monday signed an executive order aiming to use government spending to strengthen domestic manufacturing and create markets for new technologies, in a move widely praised by America's maritime industry.The executive order, titled Strengthening "Buy American" Provisions, Ensuring Future of America is Made in America by All of America’s Workers"
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Tuesday authorized the construction of two additional National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMV), marking a key milestone for one of America's most high-profile shipbuilding programs.The new vessels will replace aging training ships at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, Maine
Congress on Monday approved $390 million to fund construction of a fourth National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV). The state-of-the-art ship will be assigned to the Texas A&M Maritime Academy at Texas A&M University at Galveston, serving as a training platform for future merchant mariners and offer a critical disaster resource in the Gulf Coast.
In a joint plea to Congressional leadership and Treasury Secretary Steven Munchin this week a host of maritime transportation entities asked that $3.5 billion in COVID-19 relief funding be made available for the U.S. maritime transportation sector, citing “significant hardships” and “unique and unexpected challenges” posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.