Mariner Training – Professional Mariner

Delgado Community College’s Maritime, Fire and Industrial Training Center

Located in New Orleans, Delgado Community College’s Maritime and Industrial Training Center has also earned MarAd Center of Excellence (CoE) status. Equipped with expansive firefighting facilities, three simulators, classrooms and a full kitchen to teach crew how to cook, Delgado is responsible for training between 5,000 and 7,000 people each year from across the region and world with the help…

New president says Maine Maritime Academy still a “best-kept secret”

Perched above Penobscot Bay in Castine, Maine, cadets at Maine Maritime Academy don’t just watch ships dock — they take the helm. “There’s no substitute for doing it yourself,” said Craig Johnson, the school’s new president. “When our boats come into the harbor, there’s a cadet in charge, docking the vessel. There’s no other way to learn other than by…

Virtual reality simulators create new possibilities for maritime training

Although it’s been in the public consciousness for well over a decade, virtual reality (VR) has only recently gained a foothold in maritime simulation. VR both complements existing simulators while also expanding the training environment, offering the potential to immerse trainees to more scenarios than traditional full mission bridge simulators. The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) just completed construction of eight VR bridges,…

Missed rock on navigation chart cited in Alaska ATB grounding

The tugboat Cingluku and its barge Jungjuk sailed toward Shakmanof Cove on Alaska’s Kodiak Island at about 10 knots on a clear spring morning. Without warning, the barge grounded on a rocky shoal a foot or two below the surface. The articulated tug-barge (ATB) unit remained stuck against the rock some 400 yards from shore for four hours, until the…

‘An opportunity to be bigger than I could ever imagine’

It’s not hard for Rear Admiral John Okon, the new president of the State University of New York Maritime College, to pitch prospective students on the benefits of a maritime education and career. He just tells his own story, which began in upstate New York and later took him into the upper echelon of the U.S. Navy, where he served…

Many paths lead to the sea

As the maritime transportation field continues to evolve, “the industry faces ongoing challenges, including rehabilitating an aging infrastructure, keeping pace with technology, adapting to broad organizational changes, and meeting the growing demands of a global economy amid enhanced national security threats,” according to the U.S. Maritime Administration. Earlier this year, current administrator of the agency and retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral,…

Wanted: Ship Engineers

According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, marine engineers “supervise and coordinate activities of crew engaged in operating and maintaining engines, boilers, deck machinery, and electrical, sanitary, and refrigeration equipment aboard ship.” The government agency estimates that in 2022 there were more than 8,600 individuals so employed in the U.S. with a mean annual wage of just over $100,000.…

New skills driven by new technologies

While it’s still possible to get a good-paying job in the maritime industry with only a high school education, long-term career prospects are much better with some secondary education. That was a takeaway from the most recent maritime workforce analysis commissioned by the state of Louisiana, which serves as home to more than 20 percent of the nation’s maritime workforce…