Texas A&M Maritime Academy sets sail for training day at sea

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Posted on Jul 13, 2021 6:34 PM by

The maritime executive

[By: Texas A&M University at Galveston]

More than 300 Texas A&M Maritime Academy cadets, faculty and staff will depart from the Galveston campus aboard TS Kennedy to begin a 56-day training cruise to accumulate the hours at sea required to receive their license from the US Coast Guard. This training is essential to educate the next generation of Merchant Seamen who support both our national security through service in the military and the maritime industry, a key contributor to Texas economic prosperity.

“Over 90 percent of everything you eat, wear or use comes through our country’s ports and inland waterways,” said Superintendent Col. Michael E. Fossum. “Our nation’s workforce of skilled seafarers is aging and retiring. Educating and training merchant seamen to continue to boost the blue economy here in the Gulf Coast region and around the world is essential to meet the needs of our citizens. “

The ship serves as a living laboratory where cadets gain hands-on experience in ship navigation and marine engineering systems, maintenance, safety and security in addition to attending courses on board.

The 56-day training cruise includes port stops in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, Galveston, TX, Boston, MA, anchoring in New York, NY before dropping the vessel off at her home, the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay , MY.

“The cruise is the ultimate culmination and the continuation of our studies on land. It is difficult and difficult work; sometimes mistakes are made and lessons are learned. I’ve had long days, I’ve had tough days, but I’ve never had a bad day, ”said Summer Sea Session Cadet Corps Cruise Commander Cole Masington ’21 . “Aggies leads the job all the way, and that also goes for our instructors sailing with us. They don’t just talk on land, they walk the ship. We are all one crew.

Successful legislative efforts in Washington, DC secured Texas A&M Maritime Academy the transfer of the TS Kennedy to the Galveston campus in 2023 and a new state-of-the-art National Security Multi-Mission (NSMV) vessel in 2025. These ships both have 12 times the capacity of the Maritime Academy’s current training ship, TS General Rudder.

State Maritime Academy Training Ships are federally owned vessels operated by the six State Maritime Academies for cadet training purposes. They are also valuable support vessels for disaster response efforts.

Texas A&M Maritime Academy’s last major training ship, the TS Texas Clipper II, provided support for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 before the federal government recalled the ship for another mission.

The products and services described in this press release are not endorsed by The Maritime Executive.

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