The U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) is activating SUNY Maritime College’s training ship Empire State VII for temporary federal service, marking the first operational activation of one of the new National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMVs) built for the nation’s state maritime academies.
The 525-by-89-foot Empire State is expected to enter federal service around Sept. 1 for a mission tentatively expected to last about 170 days, according to Rear Adm. John A. Okon, president of SUNY Maritime College. Details about the vessel’s mission and destination have not been publicly disclosed. “There is still much that we do not know, but over the next week our obligation is to prepare the vessel for federal use,” Okon said in an Aug. 28 message.
Numerous articles have suggested that Diego Garcia, the joint U.S.-British military base in the Indian Ocean, is Empire State’s possible destination, though MarAd has not confirmed the vessel’s mission or destination. A MarAd spokesperson told WorkBoat that the agency, U.S. Navy and Military Sealift Command are evaluating options to increase transportation capacity for sailors and civilian mariners supporting naval operations in the Indo-Pacific.
The activation will put to use one of the secondary missions envisioned for the National Security Multi-Mission Vessels program. Developed primarily to replace aging training vessels at U.S. state maritime academies, MarAd designed the NSMVs from the outset to support federal disaster response and other national needs.
Empire State, delivered in 2023, was the first of five NSMVs built at Philly Shipyard under a vessel construction management program overseen by TOTE Services.
The ship can accommodate up to 600 cadets during training missions and includes eight classrooms, a training bridge, laboratories and an auditorium. For federal response missions, it can berth up to 1,000 people and is equipped with medical facilities, a helicopter landing area and roll-on/roll-off and container-carrying capabilities. MarAd owns Empire State as part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet and assigns the vessel to SUNY Maritime College in the Bronx, N.Y.
The ship returned to SUNY Maritime on July 16 following an eight-week Summer Sea Term with more than 600 cadets and staff aboard. The voyage included port calls in Charleston, S.C., and Europe before the vessel returned to New York.
The activation comes as SUNY Maritime begins its 2026-27 academic year. Okon acknowledged the disruption the deployment could cause and said the college is evaluating its options while awaiting additional information from MarAd.
Maritime academy training ships have a long history of supporting federal emergency-response efforts. MarAd has activated academy vessels to provide berthing, meals and other logistical support following major disasters, including Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, Irma and Maria and Superstorm Sandy. The previous Empire State, for example, housed emergency personnel following Sandy in 2012 and deployed to Key West, Fla., as part of the federal response to Hurricane Irma in 2017.
Although the current deployment would be the first federal activation of an NSMV, Okon placed it within that broader history of service. “We did it for Somalia, Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, and Sandy,” he said.
Three NSMVs have entered service with state maritime academies. Empire State was followed by Patriot State at Massachusetts Maritime Academy and State of Maine at Maine Maritime Academy. Lone Star State, the fourth vessel in the series, is slated for Texas A&M Maritime Academy, while the fifth ship is being built for California State University Maritime Academy.
